Former President Donald Trump ‘s promise of tougher China tariffs if elected again could make doing business in the world’s second-largest economy more difficult for American companies like Starbucks which are already facing tough competition from lower-cost domestic competitors. “I fully believe in them [tariffs] economically when you’re being taken advantage of by other countries,” the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee told CNBC in an interview Monday. The campaign rhetoric aside, many China tariffs imposed by the U.S. during Trump’s administration have remained under President Joe Biden , the presumptive Democratic nominee. No matter who wins the election — any reaccelerated trade war between Washington and Beijing could hurt U.S. consumer companies in China by stoking nationalistic flames among Chinese buyers to boycott American brands. During Trump’s trade war, Chinese consumers turned away from some U.S. goods and services in protest. In 2018, shortly after the initial round of Trump levies, then-Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson argued his company’s coffee was different. Starbucks built “in China for China,” he said. The company operates “as an entity in China that’s relevant to the consumer, to the culture, and we’re playing the long game,” he added at the time . SBUX 1Y mountain Starbucks 1 year Shares of Starbucks rose 1% on Monday as investors, perhaps, shrugged off China trade war worries. To be sure, the stock has fluctuated since the start of the year due to concerns about the company’s performance in China where economic pressures and aggressive local rivals pose challenges. Such a scenario could fuel skepticism — already a worry among investors — about Starbucks’ appeal to a broad swath of Chinese consumers. “I fear they’re too expensive for China,” Jim Cramer recently said, referring to Starbucks. China is a “no growth country,” he added — given its shrinking population, which is a negative sign for businesses like Starbucks…
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