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Trade War Tariffs to Hit U.S. Consumers and Retailers U.S. consumers and retailers may not escape the next round of tariffs set to roll out on September 1. Turns out, they won’t be delayed until December as originally stated. The new tariffs will be raised to 15% from 10% in response to China’s additional tariffs on $75 billion of American goods. According to a Newsmax piece, POTUS said that “the $250 billion of goods and products already being taxed at 25% will see that rate hiked to 30% starting on Oct. 1.” The National Retail Federation (NRF) is concerned, stating “tariffs have cost American small businesses, farmers, workers and families over $30 billion so far.” The NRF continued by voicing their concern over the impact of the trade war:
As the trade war continues to escalate, more and more consumer items are added to the list of items to be taxed, hurting primarily U.S. consumers and retailers. Rick Helfenbein, president and chief executive officer of the American Apparel & Footwear Association warned in a statement reported on Newsmax:
Before the rush to raise tariffs this coming month instead of December, there was already some deep concerns brewing on CNN. It came with a warning about the potential for weak December sales:
Consumer spending can only keep an economy afloat for so long in markets where prices are on the rise. These new tariffs could “sink” that economic floating device. Risks of Continued Trade War Tariff Escalation In a recent article, the Houston Chronicle referred to the trade wars in a very Humpty Dumpty way as a situation with dire consequences:
The piece also claimed the trade war “is a suicide vest threatening the global economy,” strongly referring to the tariffs as “coercion in the globalized 21st century.” But strong declarations aside, the same piece addressed something crucial we should keep in mind: The Fed may not be able to rescue the economy if it goes into recession.
Rate cuts can only inspire so much borrowing and investment before the debt must be paid. It may make market wonders “what’s next?” According to the Houston Chronicle, they don’t know:
A note at Fox Business called investors “cautious” in reference to global markets, and couldn’t find the source for Thursday’s market “optimism” that China would be delaying more retaliation:
There’s no telling how far trade war tariffs could go, which means there’s no telling how you could be impacted years from now if the economy suffers from this trade war. Make Your Retirement Resilient to the Trade War As the trade wars enter this new phase, keep in mind it didn’t start yesterday. It’s been brewing since 2015. However, it may have finally reached its boiling point. As international corporations end up in a situation where they have to examine their bottom line, it’s likely they’ll protect their profits, not the consumer. That could mean much higher prices during the holiday shopping season. Will consumers be able to keep up with price increases as the trade war continues? If not, it could put the economy at risk, as well as American’s retirement accounts. Don’t let the trade war put your retirement at risk. Help make your retirement resilient to tariffs by diversifying your portfolio before the trade war escalates even more. Diversifying with assets such as physical gold and silver can preserve your purchasing power and act as protection during times of uncertainty caused by trade wars.
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