It remains unclear where the China trade war is heading. Last week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent singled out China as “bad actors” in global trade. “China is the most unbalanced economy in the history of the modern world,” he told reporters, “and they are the biggest source of the U.S. trade problems.”

The ripple effects of Donald Trump's global trade war are increasingly being felt across numerous industries all at once and on Wednesday were once again exerting pressure on U.S. stock markets that have been roiled for weeks by his erratic trade policies.

Consumers, businesses, and even the prospects for U.S. manufacturing are all likely to become casualties in the escalating trade war between the U.S. and China, trade experts said.