The impact of President Trump’s trade war with China is starting to be felt here at home. American automotive manufacturer, Ford, is struggling to deal with the current economic situation. Chief Financial Officer Bob Shanks has estimated that the American-Chinese Trade War has already impacted the wallet of the automotive mogul to the tune of $1 billion. Not only is this interfering with Ford’s plan to restructure their company to compete in the ever-fiercer industry, but now Ford is thinking about lay-offs of American workers. A report from Morgan Stanley estimates that Ford may need to lay-off nearly twelve percent of their global employees due to the trade war and restructuring efforts. Ford originally planned on sending jobs to Mexico to save on costs, an idea they later scrapped. However, instead of bringing jobs to the United States, Ford opted to send jobs to China, arguably persuading Trump to take a firmer stance on automotive tariffs.

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Ford is not the only American company to be affected by the fallout of Trump’s trade war. Dollar Tree, which imports about forty-two percent of its products, and Family Dollar which imports twenty-three percent of its products, are also starting to feel the pressure. Ultimately, most lower and middle-class families who rely on Chinese products, which are cheaper, will have to bear the consequences of this war of giants. Aside from pulling items from shelves, store closings may also be in the future for these low-priced convenience stores, leading to more layoffs and unemployment.

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Trump has hoped to strongarm and scare China into submission. Unfortunately, China nor the United States, have showed signs of lessening their stance. China and the United States own the world’s top two economies, so a slowdown in the war may not come soon, as Trump tries to throw his weight over the world and as China tries to put him in his place. For those worried about a prolonged trade war, the United States’ economy has continued to grow as China’s has started to slow down, perhaps a trend that may put a stop to the situation. The United States Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, will try to convince US allies to follow suit and put more economic pressure on China to change their trade practices, which threaten free trade, especially in the South China Sea. The Federal Reserve started to raise interest rates in an effort to stabilize the economy and mitigate turmoil from the trade war. Unfortunately, this will make it costlier for debts to be paid off using US dollars.

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The head of the World Trade Organization, Roberto Azevedo, has projected that the world economy will slow down due to heightened tensions between major economies. While the United States’ economy will more than likely be able to endure the aftermath of the trade war, emerging and developing economies around the world are in danger of failing. The raising interest rates will only further strain the world economy. The question in everyone’s mind is now no longer how far will these countries go, but rather how long these countries are willing to strain the world economy.