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Dow Plummets as Fear About Tariff Trade War Sets in

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged over 700 points on Thursday after President Donald Trump announced $60 billion in tariffs directed at China.

The 724-point drop on the Dow, or 2.9 percent, was the largest since early February. Similarly, the S&P 500 experienced a 2.5 percent decline, while the Nasdaq gave back 2.4 percent.

“The market doesn’t like trade wars, the market doesn’t like that the Fed is adamant about raising rates,” Matt Schreiber, president and chief investment strategist at WBI Investments in Red Bank, New Jersey, told Bloomberg.

Trump announced his tariffs against China from the White House on Thursday. He cited the U.S.’s record trade deficit with the Asian nation, and China’s theft of intellectual property as the reasons for his action.

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“But we have a trade deficit … there are many different ways of looking at it, but no matter which way you look at it, it is the largest trade deficit of any country in the history of the world,” said Trump.

“We have a tremendous intellectual property theft problem,” the president added, noting that this has cost America hundreds of billions of dollars. “It’s going to make us a much stronger, much richer nation.”

The tariffs came following an investigation by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer lasting several months.

Lighthizer said the tariffs would focus on theft of U.S. technologies.

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“This is an extremely important action. Very significant and very important for the future of the country, really across industries,” he stated.

Lighthizer told the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday before the White House announcement that targeted Chinese products will include aeronautics, modern rail, new-energy vehicles and high-tech products.

His office will publish a list of items targeted by the tariffs in next 15 days, and there will be a 30 day period for public comment thereafter, CNBC reported.

In anticipation of Trump’s tariff announcement, China warned there could be retaliatory measures.

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“A trade war does no good to anyone. There is no winner,” China’s Premier Li Keqiang said at a news conference in Beijing, CNN reported.

Trump’s top trade adviser, Peter Navarro, said the decision to impose tariffs came after efforts to change Chinese trade practices — dating back over 15 years — failed to produce results.

“Administrations before us and this administration has tried very, very hard to work with the Chinese,” Navarro stated. “Talk is not cheap. It has been very expensive to the American people.”

According to Fox Business, other factors causing downward pressure on the market were Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica data controversy, Trump’s lead private attorney John Dowd resigning, and the Federal Reserve raising interest rates.

Facebook fell 2.7 percent in trading on Thursday.

Earlier this month, Trump announced the imposition of a 25 percent tariff on steel and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum, which appeared mainly directed at China.

CBS News reported that the president quickly exempted Canada, Mexico and on Thursday added the European Union, Australia, Argentina, Brazil and South Korea to that list.

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Randy DeSoto has written more than 2,000 articles for The Western Journal since he joined the company in 2015. He is a graduate of West Point and Regent University School of Law. He is the author of the book "We Hold These Truths" and screenwriter of the political documentary "I Want Your Money."
Randy DeSoto is the senior staff writer for The Western Journal. He wrote and was the assistant producer of the documentary film "I Want Your Money" about the perils of Big Government, comparing the presidencies of Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama. Randy is the author of the book "We Hold These Truths," which addresses how leaders have appealed to beliefs found in the Declaration of Independence at defining moments in our nation's history. He has been published in several political sites and newspapers.

Randy graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point with a BS in political science and Regent University School of Law with a juris doctorate.
Birthplace
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Nationality
American
Honors/Awards
Graduated dean's list from West Point
Education
United States Military Academy at West Point, Regent University School of Law
Books Written
We Hold These Truths
Professional Memberships
Virginia and Pennsylvania state bars
Location
Phoenix, Arizona
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Politics, Entertainment, Faith




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