A sign, a word, a provision, even the slightest chance of a reversal. Until the last moment on Tuesday, April 8, investors and commentators in the United States, factory owners and ordinary people in China waited for reassurance. Midnight passed, Washington time, and nothing came. The historic and massive tariffs, decided by the Trump administration against China – 104% added since the beginning of his term in January – went into effect, as did those announced on April 2 against about 60 countries. Simultaneously, a surcharge ranging from 11% to 50% was applied to 60 US trade partners, the most monumental wave of tariffs to date.

China was stunned to realize that the American president was going to undermine, overnight, the trade that still maintained a degree of interdependence between the two leading world powers. Despite the stakes, the rates that seemed improvised became a reality: 10% in February, 10% in March, 34% announced on April 2 and another 50% decided on Monday as an ultimatum to China, which had imposed the same 34%. In a few days, what will be the price in the US of an iPhone, which is still largely assembled in Zhengzhou, Henan, despite Apple's and its subcontractor Foxconn's efforts to move a quarter of production to India this year? What will be the price of a schoolbag, a toaster for the American consumer? And what will be the impact on Chinese factories?

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