US import costs of steel and aluminium, used in everything from baseball bats to cars and aircraft parts, are expected to rise by more than $100bn after Donald Trump raised tariffs on the metals to 50 per cent this week.

Another is that tariffs on “intermediate” goods, such as raw materials used to make other things, affect consumer prices indirectly. Even service industries depend on imported goods—think of lawyers using smartphones or computers made abroad.

Marketplace has been following Lei’s business since 2018, just before President Trump imposed tariffs in his first term. Not only did his business survive the extra levies, but Lei said the percentage of his sales to the U.S. went up from 50% in 2018 to 70% at the start of this year.

China and the U.S. have agreed to more tariff talks amid a trade standoff and concerns over rare earths, President Donald Trump said Thursday after a call with China's leader. Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping spoke on Thursday at a time when stalled tariff negotiations between their two countries have roiled global trade.

News of the call came as new data showed U.S. goods imports dropped significantly in April as sweeping tariffs rolled out.

President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff plan would cut deficits by $2.8 trillion over a 10-year period while shrinking the economy, raising the inflation rate and reducing the purchasing power of households overall.

The president cited figures from the Congressional Budget Office to suggest tariffs could offset the cost of tax cuts, though he omitted important caveats for why that may not be the case.