, Columnist
The Trade War Heads to American Households
Trump’s latest China tariffs will affect consumers, who have been spared the pain until now.
Trade war? What trade war?
Photographer: MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images
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Americans reading gloomy headlines about the trade war with China could be forgiven for wondering what all the fuss is about.
Bloomberg’s consumer comfort index, a weekly phone survey conducted since 1985, is running at its highest levels since 2000. Similar gauges of the household sector, such as the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index and the Conference Board’s various consumer confidence surveys, are posting the best results since the eve of the early 2000s recession.