Tariffs Are Getting Real: Will Trump Pull the Trigger?

The trade wars have officially kicked off. At the stroke of midnight on June 6, 2018, $34 billion in tariffs on goods imported from China went into effect.

China was quick to retaliate, imposing their own $34 billion in tariffs on a long list of U.S. goods that include soybeans, pork and electric vehicles.

So far, American markets don’t seem overly concerned. Maybe trade fears had been priced in after all. But Asian stocks tell a different story.

The Shanghai Composite hit fresh two-year lows on Friday and capped its seventh straight week of declines. Shares are down some 20% from their January high.

If a resolution can’t be found, the Trump administration may be inclined to continue applying pressure on China by ramping up tariffs.

So how will this affect your wallet?

Will companies pass the extra cost of those tariffs on to the consumer? And how will these extra costs hit their bottom line?

Listen to TheStreet’s Tracy Byrnes and Scott Gamm talk with Nick Colas, co-founder of Datatrek Research.