Investors rest on a chair in front of screens showing stock market movements at a securities company in Beijing on Aug. 26, 2019. Chinese investors and U.S. businesses are both watching the White House for signs of a new tactic in the trade war between the rivals.
Editor's Note: This assessment is part of a series of analyses supporting Stratfor's upcoming 2019 Fourth-Quarter Forecast. These assessments are designed to provide more context and in-depth analysis on key developments over the next quarter. For much of August, the United States and China have followed a tit-for-tat pattern of tariffs as they wage their trade war, with Beijing answering the round of U.S. tariffs announced Aug. 1 by President Donald Trump with some of its own. But a bombshell announcement by Trump on Aug. 23 has the potential to change the rules of the game. With one tweet — "American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China" — Trump offered a glimpse of where he might take the trade fight next.
