Trade War Escalation, U.S. Price Risks, BOE Wild Card: Eco Day

(Bloomberg) -- Good morning Americas. Here’s news from Bloomberg Economics to help get your Wednesday started:

• U.S. President Donald Trump is pushing his trade conflict with China toward a point where neither side can back down.
  • China vowed to fight back against U.S. plans to impose tariffs on an additional $200 billion in Chinese good. It’s channeling Michelle Obama and has an arsenal of non-tariff weapons
  • The new U.S. round of proposed levies on China will hit consumer goods including handbags and cameras, but also niche products like badger hair
  • In the meantime, the two countries have also imposed tariffs on some non-existent trade
• The tightest trucking market in years is testing the limits of an otherwise well-conditioned U.S. economic expansion and it’s also tinder for accelerating inflation
• Here’s why Britain’s political turmoil fanned by Brexit may be the last hurdle for a Bank of England interest-rate increase in August
• Meanwhile, Bloomberg Economics estimates that a big win for England’s soccer team in the World Cup semi-final could offer a fleeting boost to GDP growth -- but the more important match is in Brussels
• In Poland, the central bank is so confident about the state of the economy that it may be ready to start charting monetary policy beyond this decade, while in Croatia the government is set to back Boris Vujcic to lead the country’s central bank for another six-year term
• Malaysia’s central bank kept its benchmark interest rate steady in the first policy meeting under a new governor
• Japan’s record spending on defense is shaping up as a bright spot in bilateral trade with the U.S.
• Here’s one economy defying the jittery global mood. Chile’s government has raised its growth forecast to 3.8 percent on the back of rebounding copper prices

To contact the reporter on this story: Zoe Schneeweiss in Zurich at zschneeweiss@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Fergal O'Brien at fobrien@bloomberg.net, Sam Unsted

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.