Developing Countries That Export Critical Resources Could be Collateral Damage in the U.S.-China Trade War

List of Chinese products that are now subject to increased U.S. tariffs. Data via the U.S. Trade Representative

The $18 billion of Chinese products targeted by the U.S. for increased tariffs will not have a measurable impact on a trade relationship worth more than $600 billion annually.

But that’s not the case for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zimbabwe, Bolivia, and Indonesia, among other Global South countries that export vast quantities of critical minerals and metals that are processed in China and later sold as batteries and electronics to the United States.

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