As U.S.-China Trade Talks Resume, A Deal Remains Uncertain

U.S. trade negotiators open a new round of talks in China this week. But there appears to be little pressure for a settlement, even as the year-old conflict begins to weigh on the global economy.

"I don't know if they're going to make a deal," President Trump told reporters last week. "Maybe they will. Maybe they won't. I don't care, because we're taking in tens of billions of dollars' worth of tariffs."

The trade war began last summer when the Trump administration slapped tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese imports. Since then, it's escalated in fits and starts. The U.S. now adds a 25% tax to some $250 billion in Chinese imports. Although Trump paints his tariffs as a windfall for the U.S. Treasury, economists say the bulk of the cost is paid by American businesses and consumers buying Chinese goods.