America raises tariffs on China, and the stakes in a trade war

MEETING IN WASHINGTON, Chinese and American trade negotiators made it through dinner without hurling the plates at each other. But there was no truce on the menu. One minute after midnight in Washington on May 10th, America carried through on its threat to ratchet up tariffs on Chinese goods. Two minutes later, China vowed to hit back. And so the world’s two biggest economies staggered a couple of steps closer to all-out trade war. Such an outcome is still far from certain: talks are continuing and, until recently, had been making progress. But the risks are rising of economic damage in both countries, and of a rupture in their already strained relationship.