51�Թ�

Federal officials have previously accused China of fueling the U.S. fentanyl crisis by supplying fentanyl precursors to illicit drug manufacturers.

Some experts think ending the exemption will do little to curb illegal drugs and not address the challenges faced by US manufacturers.

Despite that, Xi knows that Chinese manufacturers are at a decades-long advantage, so that US manufacturers are struggling to find the same scale of infrastructure and skilled labour elsewhere.

Clothing manufacturers are among the businesses hit hardest by tariffs as they source labour from countries such as China and Vietnam, which have faced steep levies from the US.

Trump’s own tariff policies, intended in theory to rebalance global trade to the benefit of U.S. manufacturers and farmers, risk immediate pain to American households and a prolonged economic crisis.