As an investor, when contemplating the words in the geopolitical and macro realm, deciphering words and verbiage can be critical to a portfolio's performance.  The geopolitical environment investors are forced to consider this year likely outweighs that which one had to consider in the more recent past or during previous u.s. administrations. The last couple of weeks have found investors rocked back and forth by equity markets and in large part due to the rhetoric coming out of Washington and Bei Jing , China.

Let's quickly outline the latest charge put forth by the U.S. administration. This latest charge by the White House comes in response to China's response to the White House's initial trade tariff proclamation on the Chinese Republic.

“In light of China's unfair retaliation, I have instructed the USTR to consider whether $100 billion of additional tariffs would be appropriate under section 301 and, if so, to identify the products upon which to impose such tariffs,” Trump said in a statement.

The United States is still prepared to have discussions in further support of our commitment to achieving free, fair, and reciprocal trade and to protect the technology and intellectual property of American companies and American people,” Trump said in a statement.”