IN its scope And gravity, the trade war has taken markets by surprise. On April 3, the day after President Donald Trump’s presence, an unprecedented range of prices, the Russell 3000, one of the widest measures in the US scholarship, dropped 5%. He then dropped 6% on April 4, when China announced that it was going to resume a duty of 34% on all American goods. The market price in a range of asset classes tells a disturbing story: investors expect a severe economic slowdown.