The post originally appears on http://www.gamblingandthelaw.com/ and we republished with permission.

President Donald Trump has escalated his trade war with China. Last week he announced that he intends to slap tariffs on another $200 billion of imports from China. Stock markets around the world fell dramatically, as did the value of China’s currency, the yuan.

China responded, as it always does, with retaliatory tariffs on American produce and products. The People’s Republic of China understands that the fight is political, not economic. So the PRC is micro-targeting which US companies and regions will be hurt.

For example, the PRC imposed a 25% tariff on soybean imports from the U.S. China used to buy 40% of the total U.S. crop; and 60% of the soybeans grown in Iowa. Just the announcement of the tariff knocked down the price of soybeans by 20%, devastating American famers and costing the state of Iowa nearly a billion dollars.