Trump's Tariff War Could Take US Tech Industry 'Back A Decade While China Steam Rolls Ahead'

China announced a series of retaliatory measures on Friday in response to President Donald Trump‘s tariffs on Chinese goods, escalating the trade conflict between the two largest global economies. 

The Details: China said it intends to impose a 34% tariff on all U.S. imports starting on April 10 and has tightened export controls on rare earth minerals critical for high-tech industries. 

Global financial markets have tumbled and all major U.S. indexes were deeply red for a second day amid the escalating trade war with the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY down 2.83% and the Invesco QQQ Trust QQQ down 2.99% in early trading. 

Read Next: Trump Slaps 25% Tariffs On Autos: What It Means For Your Next Car Purchase 

Expert Ideas: Wedbush tech analyst Dan Ives on Friday described Trump's tariffs as a "bad science experiment that in the process will cause an economic Armageddon in our view and crush the tech trade, AI Revolution theme, and overall industry in the process." 

If the tariffs go into effect in their current form, tech company earnings will decline by 15% and the price of all electronics could go up by 40% to 50% for consumers, Ives predicted. He warned that the U.S. tech industry would be set back by a decade while "China steam rolls ahead." 

Ives pointed to build-out times of four to five years for a manufacturing facility in the U.S., the high cost of labor and a lack of highly-skilled workers as factors that would lead to the "crushing" of the U.S. tech industry.  

The Wedbush analyst closed the note with a glimmer of hope that negotiations may be able to stop the "self-inflicted debacle of epic proportions" of the current tariff environment.

"We assume tariff negotiations start now otherwise dark days are ahead for tech…and US consumers pay the price for this..not a debate," Ives wrote.  

China's finance ministry also called for trade discussions Friday morning, which could "resolve trade differences through consultation in an equal, respectful and mutually beneficial manner." 

President Trump took to Truth Social with a response that “CHINA PLAYED IT WRONG, THEY PANICKED – THE ONE THING THEY CANNOT AFFORD TO DO!”

In a separate post, Trump said, “this is a great time to get rich” and his “policies will never change.”

Read Next: 

• Trump’s Tariffs Prompt China To Vow ‘Countermeasures’: Experts See Retaliation Likely 

Image: Shutterstock