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On Wednesday, US President Trump’s new tariffs started.
These tariffs affect many countries, including a 104% tax on some goods from China. People say this has started a global trade war.
Many countries are worried about a recession because of the new tariffs. The tariffs also made stock markets around the world drop. In the US, the S&P 500 lost almost $6 trillion in just four days. This is the biggest loss since the 1950s.
Stock prices in Asian stock markets also dropped. Japan’s Nikkei stock index fell more than 3%, and South Korea’s currency also went down. Many people expect the U.S. stock markets to decrease more.
President Trump has given mixed messages about how long the tariffs will last. He said they are permanent, but he also said they are negotiable.
The US has plans to talk with South Korea, Japan, and Italy. A leader from Vietnam will also speak with US officials.
China said it will fight the tariffs. Chinese companies said they will work together to keep their stock prices steady.
Experts say that these tariffs could make many items more expensive for people in the US.
The tariffs that started on Wednesday will not affect goods that were already shipped before midnight.
A recent poll showed that most Americans think prices will go up in the next six months.
President Trump said that these tariffs are to punish countries that are “ripping off” the US. This includes some of the US’s allies, like the European Union.
President Trump has also said more tariffs on pharmaceuticals may come soon.
Vocabulary
- President – A person who is in charge of a country or a company; the top person/leader of a company or country
- Tariff – A fee or tax added to products and goods entering a country
- Affect – to have an influence on or to change something;
- Including – together with; as well as; part of a group or many; plus
- Tax – money that a government requires people or businesses to pay
- Goods – Things that people make or grow to sell; merchandise; products;
- Global – related to the whole world; everywhere in the world; 🌍
- Trade war – When countries put high taxes on each other’s goods
- Worried – Feeling nervous or concerned
- Recession – A time period when the economy is not doing well and many people are losing their jobs or don’t have a lot of money
- Stock market – a market where stocks (pieces of ownership in a company) are bought and sold (New York Stock Exchange ‘Wall Street’)
- Drop – to decrease; to go down; to become less; 📉
- Trillion – 1,000,000,000,000 = one-trillion
- Loss – when you have less money or goods than before
- Stock – the money a company has from selling shares (parts of the company) on the stock market
- Stock price – the value or cost of one share of a company’s stock in the financial market; the price of one small piece of a company that can be bought in a stock market like “the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street”; stock price goes up and down depending on how well the company is doing
- Fall – To go down; to decrease
- Expect – to think something will happen; forecast; predict; suppose
- Decrease – to go down; to become less; become smaller
- Mixed message – when someone says something that’s confusing or not clear; when someone says two things, but they disagree with each other
- Permanent – Lasting for a very long time, or forever
- Negotiable – you can talk about able to be talked about and changed
- Leader – someone who is in charge of a group, organization or country; a boss or manager; a person who guides, directs, or commands a group
- Official – a person who works for the government or a government company and has power or authority; officer; executive
- Fight – to use a lot of effort to defeat/stop something, achieve something, or to stop something happening; to go against; to try to stop something
- Steady – staying the same, not changing much
- Expert – a person with a lot of knowledge and experience in a trade, job or profession
- Item – a single object or thing; one piece; a product
- Ship – to send goods from one place to another
- Recent – not long ago;
- Poll – a survey; questionnaire; questions for a group of people to understand their opinion
- Show – to prove something or make the truth or existence of something known; confirm; demonstrate; to display; to represent
- Punish – discipline; penalize; To make someone suffer for doing something wrong by hurting them, forcing them to pay money, or sending them to prison
- Rip off – to charge someone too much money for something; to set higher prices than usual; to take more money from someone than necessary
- Ally – a person or organization that is on your side or helps you; friend; associate; partner
- The European Union (EU) – 27 countries in Europe that work closely together
- Pharmaceuticals – drugs; medicines
Quiz
Discussion Questions
- Why do you think countries use tariffs? What are the pros and cons?
- Do you think it is fair for a country to “punish” another country with tariffs? Why or why not?
- What do you think is the best way for countries to fix disagreements about trade?
- If you were the leader of a country, how would you respond to these tariffs?
- How important is it for countries to have good relationships with allies?
- English teachers looking for teaching ideas, check out my post on using easy news articles for lessons.
- English learners looking for study ideas, check out my post on using news stories for English practice.
Original Story
Fill-in-the-Blank Listening Practice
On _____, US President Trump’s new tariffs started.
_____ tariffs affect many countries, including a 104% tax on some _____ from China. People say this has started a global trade _____.
Many countries are _____ about a recession because of the new tariffs. The _____ also made stock markets around the world _____. In the US, the S&P 500 lost almost $6 trillion in just _____ days. This is the biggest loss since the 1950s.
_____ prices in Asian stock markets also dropped. Japan’s Nikkei stock _____ fell more than 3%, and South Korea’s currency also went down. Many _____ expect the U.S. stock markets to decrease more.
President Trump _____ given mixed messages about how long the tariffs will last. He said they _____ permanent, but he also said they are negotiable.
The _____ has plans to talk with South Korea, Japan, and Italy. A leader from _____ will also speak with US officials.
China said it will _____ the tariffs. Chinese companies said they will work together to keep _____ stock prices steady.
Experts say that _____ tariffs could make many items more expensive for people in the US.
_____ tariffs that started on Wednesday will not affect goods that were already shipped _____ midnight.
A recent poll showed that _____ Americans think prices will go up in the next six months.
_____ Trump said that these tariffs are to punish countries that are “ripping off” _____ US. This includes some of the US’s allies, like the _____ Union.
President Trump has also said more tariffs _____ pharmaceuticals may come soon.
