Asian Grocers in U.S. Are Bearing the Brunt of China Trade War

Assistant Manager Dong Zheng paced the aisles of his Asian grocery store in Maryland with an urgent task: Slap higher prices on about 50 different items to reflect the latest tariffs in the U.S.-China trade war. Among his targets at 99 Ranch Market in the Washington suburb of Gaithersburg: crispy broad beans, up 40 cents to $2.69, and Lee Kum Kee abalone sauce, jumping to $8.39 from around $5. The chain imports many of its goods from China, and the trade war may push prices higher on as many as 90 percent of the store’s products, Zheng said. “Everything is impacted,” said Zheng, whose store is part of Buena Park, California-based Tawa Supermarket Inc. “It’s just too much.” Read more here