China launches massive tariff retaliation on U.S. goods
Why it matters: The levy is the latest escalation stemming from Trump's trade war. It will be devastating for U.S. farmers in particular, who are major exporters to China. Markets dove on the news.
By the numbers: The U.S. exports about $145 billion in goods to China a year.
That trade is dominated by oilseeds and grains, per the U.S.-China Business Council.
Catch up quick: The trade tit-for-tat started when Trump put a 10% tariff on imports from China, alleging it was failing to control the flow of fentanyl out of the country.
He later doubled that to 20%.
Subsequently, Trump introduced a reciprocal tariff of 34% on China, which stacked on the drug tariffs. When the Chinese retaliated with a matching levy, Trump added another 50%.
That mean that as of 12:01 a.m. ET Wednesday, the U.S. now charges a 104% tariff on imports from China.
By the numbers: U.S. stock futures, which had been mostly flat in the early morning, took a sharp leg down on the retaliation news and were about 1.5% lower as of 7:30 a.m. ET.
Oil continued to plunge, falling another 6% to around $56 a barrel.
Meanwhile U.S. Treasury bonds, normally a safe haven in times of crisis, sank instead, with yields rising 13 basis points to about 4.39%.
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