One question looms for a manufacturer working out where to build a factory: how big is a potential location’s tariff gap with China? President Donald Trump’s latest levies, which took effect on August 7th, have shaken things up. Despite his fighting words, China appears to have a better deal than before, at least compared with other countries: the gap between tariffs applied to it and the rest of the world has shrunk. Mr Trump also promises a clampdown on “transshipment”, which would curb firms’ ability to tariff-hop.
