The public hearing for the US' $200 billion tariffs concludes today

And the fact that Trump may order that to go into effect as early as tomorrow is keeping market participants on their toes as we begin the day. The yen and swissie are bid in the FX space while equities are mostly trading lower in Asia.

It seems like it is just a formality at this point and we will get an announcement whether later today, tomorrow, or next week. As Trump has been so very adamant on the issue and with negotiations between US and China going nowhere still, it's only a matter of time.

The big question next will be on how China will retaliate in response?

China isn't going to be able to slap the same amount of tariffs on US goods - they only imported $130 billion in US goods last year - so it's going to be up to anyone's guess as to what they may do next. That includes possibly limiting business investments/opportunities for US companies or just making life a living hell for US companies to get their goods through border control.

While all the tariffs thrown around this year have been large on paper, they barely have had any impact on the two countries. But this here, this could be where the real trade war begins.