US, China square off on tariffs; Fannie Mae fires workers; Government cuts could raise jobless rate

Trade tensions between the United States and China escalated this week as President Donald Trump planned to impose an additional 50% tariff on imports on China starting at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Wednesday if it does not withdraw plans for a new 34% tariff on goods coming from the U.S.

China’s latest tariff was in retaliation for last week’s new fee imposed by the U.S. on goods from China, as part of sweeping tariffs affecting about 100 trading partners. The Trump administration has since said it is open to negotiations with all affected countries, briefly calming stock markets Tuesday morning before markets posted a fourth-straight day of steep drops. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed Tuesday down 320 points for the day, with the S&P 500 declining 80 points and the Nasdaq down 336 points.

The latest additional 50% tariff on imports from China would take the fee on that country to a record 104%, according to the Trump administration. Chinese government officials Tuesday were refusing to back down from that country’s retaliatory tariffs and warned more countermeasures were being considered.

China is the United States’ third-largest trading partner after Mexico and Canada. If Chinese companies decide to reduce the flow of products into the U.S., the stakes for real estate include a potential decrease in demand for warehouse and other logistics properties near major U.S. ports. Analysts also project price hikes for consumers and businesses on numerous products.

Mortgage giant Fannie Mae has fired more than 100 employees for alleged “unethical conduct” since mid-March, according to the United States Federal Housing Finance Agency.

It’s the latest in a series of changes at the agency since William J. Pulte was sworn in last month as director of the FHFA, which oversees Fannie Mae.

In a statement released Tuesday, Pulte, who is also the self-appointed chairman of Fannie Mae’s board of directors, said employees were fired after they were allegedly “caught engaging in unethical conduct, including facilitating fraud, against our great company.”

“In President Trump’s housing market, there is no room for fraud, mortgage fraud, or any other deceitful act that can jeopardize the safety and soundness of the housing industry,” Pulte said. Further details were not available, and FHFA officials said there is an ongoing investigation into the alleged conduct.

The combination of federal government job cuts and newly announced trade tariffs has the potential to raise the nation’s unemployment rate by at least a half-point by year’s end, according to The Conference Board.

The New York-based economic research group said those factors could lead the jobless rate to increase from its 4.2% level in March, to as high as 4.7% by the end of 2025. The projection was part of a larger index report this week indicating U.S. payroll employment remained in growth mode in March, prior to last week’s tariff announcements by the Trump administration.

“While the US labor market held steady in March, declining confidence among businesses and consumers suggests that the labor market may face increasing headwinds moving forward,” Conference Board economist Mitchell Barnes said in a statement.

The Conference Board said its monthly employment index, based on several factors including job posting and hiring trends, registered at 109.03 for March, up from 108.47 in February, with numbers above 100 indicating employment growth. The group noted many of the recently announced federal job cuts have yet to take effect, and 40% of surveyed small businesses reported difficulty filling job openings in March, the highest level since August 2024.