Tariff price hikes may be seen but supply chains are often opaque

Sep 19, 2018
When it comes to tariffs, consider today T minus five. In five days, more than 5,000 types of goods from China will be added to a list of tariffs imposed by the United States. That likely means higher prices for leather handbags. Fruit juice. Rain jackets. We may be surprised by what’s on the list. […]

Consumers may not link tariffs and higher prices

Sep 18, 2018
How much do you pay attention to fluctuations in the prices of stuff you buy? There are new tariffs coming on some $200 billion worth of goods from China. They’ll start with a 10 percent tariff Monday and climb to a 25 percent tariff in the new year. Today, China immediately promised to retaliate with […]
Signs with the U.S. flag and Chinese flag are seen outside a store selling foreign goods in Qingdao in China's eastern Shandong province on Sept. 19, 2018. - China on Sept. 18 announced tariffs on U.S. goods worth $60 billion in retaliation for President Donald Trump's decision to slap duties on $200 billion in Chinese products next week. 
STR/AFP/Getty Images

Canada's Aluminum Valley grapples with U.S. tariffs

Sep 17, 2018
A 50-mile stretch along the Saguenay River in Quebec produces roughly half of Canada's aluminum; residents are anxious.
Rio Tinto ships raw material and finished ingots in and out of its own port facility on the bay of the Saguenay River, which flows out to the Saint Lawrence and the Atlantic Ocean.
Emma Jacobs/Marketplace

The next round of tariffs will hit the U.S. fashion industry

Sep 17, 2018
"There aren't a lot of places that can replace China," says Julia Hughes, president of the U.S. Fashion Industry Association.
A patternmaker works on a garment in New York City in 2014.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Tariffs on imported materials could push up post-disaster costs

Sep 13, 2018
Hurricane Florence, currently tearing along the Southeast coast of the U.S. could bring wind gusts of 80 mph. The governor of North Carolina said that “tens of thousands of structures are expected to be flooded.” The post-storm costs could be high as communities buy up the drywall, lumber, and steel to rebuild. The price of […]
Waves created by Hurricane Florence are seen along Cherry Grove Fishing Pier on September 14, 2018 in North Myrtle Beach, United States. 
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

China looms over EU-U.S. trade talks

Sep 10, 2018
On Monday, America’s top trade official is in Brussels, talking tariffs with the European Union. A couple months ago the two sides agreed to a trade war truce. But with the Trump administration constantly reviewing trade policy, it’s hard to predict how things will go. Click the audio player above to hear the full story. 
Flags of the European Union member states in Brussels, Belgium. 
Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Japan trade officials and companies take a nuanced approach to U.S. tariffs

Sep 4, 2018
The Trump administration’s 25 percent tariff on imported steel has triggered retaliation from U.S. trading partners such as Canada, the European Union, and China. But over the past few months, Japan, which has also been a target of U.S. tariffs, and which runs a $69 billion trade surplus with the U.S. (the third-largest trade imbalance […]

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Why Trump's tariffs on newsprint were overturned

Aug 30, 2018
The U.S. International Trade Commission finds itself in more of the spotlight now that the White House is taking a bigger role in tariffs.
Jason Campbell adjusts rolls of newsprint before printing at The Columbian newspaper on April 18, 2018 in Vancouver, Washington. In January of 2017 the the U.S. Commerce Department imposed tariffs as much as 32 percent on Canadian newsprint causing paper prices to wildly skyrocket. The new prices may harm newspapers, already operating on razor thin margins, across the United States.
Natalie Behring/Getty Images

Canada protects its dairy industry. President Trump is tired of that.

Aug 30, 2018
The president has given Canada until Friday to sign on to a new trade agreement, but the dairy industry has been one of the prime sticking points during negotiations.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (2L) speaks with dairy farmers in Ottawa, Ontario on June 12, 2018. - Canadian politicians of all stripes rallied round their prime minister on after his cautious and polite defense of free trade rules drew an extraordinary personal rebuke from US President Donald Trump.
MICHEL COMTE/AFP/Getty Images

Talkin' trade war at the Minnesota State Fair

Aug 29, 2018
Nearly two million people visit the 12-day Minnesota State Fair every year. Visitors can take in live music, eat a lot of fried food and sweets, hop on carnival rides, and take in exhibits that celebrate the state’s agriculture industry. The fair is also a place for citizens to meet with their elected officials to discuss the big issues of the day, like a trade war.
A Ferris Wheel turns as people check out John Deere tractors on Machinery Hill at the Minnesota State Fair in Falcon Heights, Minn. on Thursday, Aug. 23, 2018.
Evan Frost | MPR News