Wednesday, April 9

United States President Donald Trump has further increased the country's tariff on China, and stock markets across Asia are tanking after the announcements.

Recently, Trump announced a baseline 10% tariff on every single country that the US imports goods from, and specific countries received additional tariffs depending on how much alleged "cheating" they had done to get money from the US. This "cheating" included factors like tariffs and the trade deficit between countries and the US. Read more about the initial announcement of the tariffs here.

Among the countries hit with additional tariffs, China, which already had an existing 20% tariff from earlier this year, was slapped with an additional 34% tariff. This would bring the country's total to 54%, the highest of any country.

However, as part of any trade war, China retaliated. So far, among all countries that have been hit with American tariffs, only Canada and China have retaliated-- several other nations, in addition to the EU, are considering retaliation but have not executed it yet. Now, in response to Trump's tariff, China placed a 34% tariff back on the United States, which is known as a reciprocal tariff.

Unfortunately for China, this move motivated the Trump administration to take action once again. Yesterday, Trump announced an additional 50% tariff on all Chinese goods, bringing the total tariff to 104%. That new tariff has already gone into effect, and it may spark further retaliation from China.

Nevertheless, China has maintained that a trade war is not in their interests, and they claim that the US is "bullying" other countries into submission. They have confirmed, though, that they refuse to allow Trump to place tariffs on them without retaliation, as that is their duty to their people. They also stated that they are willing to negotiate with the United States, if necessary.

Fact of the Day (Today): Allodoxaphobia is the fear of hearing other people’s opinions.

Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it. (Lou Holtz)

Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Apparatchik (noun, ah-puh-RAH-chik) - Apparatchik is used disapprovingly to refer to a blindly devoted official, follower, or member of an organization, such as a corporation or political party.

In a Sentence: This generation of graduates wants more out of life than to become establishment apparatchiks.