Trump's China hawks to swoop in as trade talks with Beijing go nowhere

In the past week, while the two sides were talking, the US slapped tariffs on a further $16 billion in Chinese imports

The trade war between the U.S. and China is about to get uglier. After a long, hot summer spent weighing risks and firing warning shots, the hawks in President Donald Trump’s administration have gained the upper hand -- and they’re set to unleash a fall offensive.

Talks in Washington this week yielded little visible progress toward a cease-fire between the world’s two largest economies. Looming instead are new tariffs that Trump has threatened to impose on some $200 billion in annual imports from China, and Beijing’s already-promised retaliation.

“We’re facing an escalating trade war over the next few months,” says David Dollar