*By Carlo Versano*
U.S. stocks appeared to shrug off an escalating trade war in early trading Tuesday after China said it would slap tariffs on $60 billion of American imports.
The retaliatory move came after the Trump administration said it would go forward with taxes on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports at an initial rate of 10 percent. That will increase to 25 percent next year.
Apple and other tech companies will be somewhat spared from this round. The list of Chinese products to be taxed did not include popular products like its AirPods and smart watches or other fitness trackers.
CEO Tim Cook, speaking Tuesday on ABC's [Good Morning America](https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/video/embed/57901720), struck a conciliatory tone: "Trade is one of those things where it's not a zero-sum game," he said. "I'm optimistic that the two countries will sort this out and life will go on."
The $200 billion is in addition to $50 billion imposed earlier this year, bringing the grant total of Chinese goods to be taxed to nearly half of all imports from the country. Many business leaders, from manufacturing to farming to shipping sectors, warned these tariffs would lead to higher prices for American consumers.
But China, in immediately hitting $60 billion of U.S. goods with its own levies, was tacitly admitting the country is running out of imports to tax, given the trade imbalance between the superpowers. The U.S. currently imports about $505 billion in goods from China.
President Trump showed no signs of backing off in the trade war, [tweeting](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1042033116695670786) Tuesday morning: "China has openly stated that they are actively trying to impact and change our election by attacking our farmers, ranchers and industrial workers because of their loyalty to me....There will be great and fast economic retaliation against China if our farmers, ranchers and/or industrial workers are targeted!"
Parallel Systems has been selected to receive $4.5 million from the Department of Energy for an advanced testing program of its autonomous, battery-electric rail vehicles. The startup, which has raised more than $53 million to date, was founded by former SpaceX engineers to reimagine the rail system by creating a more efficient, decarbonized freight network. Matt Soule, Co-founder & CEO of Parallel Systems, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss what the company hopes to achieve.
A bipartisan bill introduced by U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) aims to tackle the spread of misinformation on social media platforms, as well as the addictive nature of the sites and negative mental health impacts they have on users. The 'Nudge Act' would require studies to find and compile potential interventions that platforms could use to encourage people to think before they share a post, or log off after spending too much time on an app. The FTC would create rules based on these findings, and hold the platforms accountable. But will it work? Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of Accountable Tech, joins Closing Bell to discuss the bill, whether real results and regulations could come from it, and more.
A.I.-based entertainment company, Deedub, recently raised
$20 million in a Series A round, led by Insight Partners. Deepdub uses A.I. technology to automate the dubbing process for foreign-language movies or TV shows, while using actors' original voices. The company says it can take just two to three minutes of data from an actor's voice and transform the voice into a different language. The funding comes as foreign-language films and shows like Netflix's 'Squid Game' have recently become more popular with audiences in the U.S. and around the world. Oz Krakowski, Chief Revenue Officer at Deepdub, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Energy Vault, the company developing sustainable, grid-scale energy storage solutions, is now trading on the New York Stock Exchange following the completion of its business combination with Novus Capital Corporation II. Energy Vault develops sustainable, grid-scale energy storage solutions designed to advance the transition to a carbon free, resilient power grid. Robert Piconi, co-founder and CEO of Energy Vault, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to disucss.
