The U.S.-China War Over Trade and Tariffs, Explained

What started in 2018 with U.S. levies on imported washing machines and solar panels to protect domestic producers escalated into a cycle of tariffs, talks, threats and truces that rocked financial markets. Behind all the sparring between the U.S. and China — one an incumbent superpower, the other a rising one — over tariff levels and targeted product lists are broader and more formidable issues such as market access, intellectual property, national security, the proper role of government in th