Stocks tumble as China issues tariff retaliation

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As expected, China has retaliated. And now it seems the US will retaliate to the retaliation. China today announced a wave of new tariffs on several thousand items. According to Bloomberg just shy of 2,500 items will be hit with 25% tariffs, while 20% tariffs will be imposed on more than 1,000 items, with tariffs of 10% due for 974 items, and 595 items taking a hit of 5%. According to a statement on the Chinese ministry of finance’s website, the latest round of tariffs will come into force on 1 June. Prior to China’s announcement, The LA Times was already reporting that stocks had fallen and that the US administration was gearing up to hit back by boosting tariffs on all remaining Chinese imports, some $300bn in trade.