Trump’s Tariffs Hit China Where It Hurts

How serious are President Donald Trump's latest trade threats against China? The scale of the new measures -- 10 percent tariffs on an additional $200 billion of Chinese products -- will certainly get Beijing's attention. But the headline figure matters less than the industries being targeted and their relative importance to China's economy. By that metric, this latest attack is a serious escalation.

Most consequentially, the tariff list targets basic manufactured goods such as furniture, electronics, machinery, textiles and fibers. Together, these broad categories make up roughly 67 percent of total Chinese exports, which in turn account for 18 percent of gross domestic product. That means the potential for significant economic harm is high, all the more so given that manufacturing is the largest individual employment sector in China.