Trade War to Worsen Uncertainty around trade has been a burden to the U.S. economy, especially to farmers, and yet more trouble appears to be coming. Following are the five reasons why Donald Trump is likely to raise punitive tariffs on Chinese goods to 25 percent:

Politics: This president has very little bipartisan support on most things, but both political parties and the American business community agree with his effort to reduce the adverse impact of China’s state-directed economy. Obstinance #1: Donald Trump walked away from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a relatively good deal, so he certainly has little trouble walking away from a bad deal with China. Obstinance #2: He walked away from an agreement with North Korea&...