First it was steel and aluminium. Now it is frozen pork and pistachios. This week it could be computers, and the week after that planes. With this week's decision by the Chinese leadership to retaliate against US President Donald Trump's tariffs with levies of its own, the global economy is on the brink of one of the most serious trade wars of the modern era, with potentially billions of dollars of imports and exports at stake. If it happens, it will be terrible for every country, and every stock market. Any kind of restriction on trade destroys wealth on an epic scale. But just like any other war, some countries and some industries will be affected more than others. When Trump suddenly imposed a range of tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium into the US, there was a chance that the rest of the world might decide it was just Donald being Donald, and turn the other cheek. That would have been the sensible response. Any kind of tariff hurts the country imposing it more than anyone...
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