In 2017, in an effort to protect U.S. manufacturing and intellectual property, President Trump increased tariffs on Chinese imports. Initially, this move did protect the American economy, because companies no longer disclosed intellectual property just to gain access to a market. These tariffs reduced the U.S. – China trade and exchange frequency, through cost increase, export duties and other charges. Additionally, these tariffs apply to various imports from China to the USA such as chemicals, mechanical imports, aircraft engines, lasers, electromagnetics, etc.