U.S. tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese goods kicked in on Friday, escalating a war of words between the world’s two largest economies into a full-blown trade conflict.  Washington’s 25 percent duties went into effect at midnight EDT, and China immediately implemented retaliatory tariffs on its $34 billion list of goods issued last month, including soybeans, pork and electric vehicles. Beijing called it the “biggest

trade war in economic history.” It’s unlikely to stop there. In fact, there will probably be “escalation upon escalation,” warned Geoff Raby, Australia’s former ambassador to China.  Ahead of the Friday implementation of American and Chinese tariffs, Raby told CNBC that “it looks like the first shots to the trade war are about to be fired.” China, for its part, was already calling the tariff threats between Beijing and Washington a “trade war” in June. READ MORE