Tariffs

President Trump signed a trade deal with China on Wednesday. The agreement relaxes some U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports. In exchange, China is expected to buy more from the U.S.

The U.S. economy is still growing, but trade tensions have taken a toll — especially on factories and farms. The trade war's impact on the overall economy is being debated.

"A China trade deal is dependent on one thing — do I want to make it," the president said, adding, "In some ways, I like the idea of waiting until after the election for the China deal."

The trade war with China is weighing on America's manufacturers. "[The tariff burden] comes out of our bottom line," says Dan Digre, president of Misco, a speaker-maker in Minnesota.

President Trump says a mini trade agreement with China could happen "soon," but he offered no guarantees. In a speech to the Economic Club of New York, Trump downplayed the cost of his trade war.

China is considered the motherland of aquarium goldfish, bred over centuries into rare forms. Now tariffs have some U.S. sellers of these goldfish in a tailspin.

China's economic growth has been slowing down for years. Tariffs have contributed to slower growth since early 2018, when the economic standoff began, but it's hard to pinpoint how much.

U.S. employers added 136,000 jobs in September — a sign of continued resilience in the labor market amid growing signals that the economy is losing steam. The jobless rate was the lowest since 1969.

With more imports from China facing tariffs, some companies are trying to avoid the taxes by falsely labeling Chinese products as made elsewhere. One case traces to a dusty factory in the Philippines.

Since August 2018, NPR has been tracking about 80 items sold at a Georgia Walmart with an eye toward products caught in the trade war. On average, prices rose 3%. Tariffs are one of many factors.

As the trade war drags on, more manufacturers are looking to relocate from China to avoid Trump's tariffs. A firm that sells Isaac Mizrahi's clothing line has already shifted much of its production.