Asian Grocers in U.S. Are Bearing the Brunt of China Trade War
- Tariffs on range of products spur price hikes on many goods
- Stores still gauging impact weeks after Trump imposes duties
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Assistant Manager Dong Zheng paced the aisles of his Asian grocery store in Maryland with an urgent task: Slap higher prices on about 50 different items to reflect the latest tariffs in the U.S.-China trade war.
Among his targets at 99 Ranch Market in the Washington suburb of Gaithersburg: crispy broad beans, up 40 cents to $2.69, and Lee Kum Kee abalone sauce, jumping to $8.39 from around $5. The chain imports many of its goods from China, and the trade war may push prices higher on as many as 90 percent of the store’s products, Zheng said.