US-China trade war: How Xi can make life difficult for Tesla, GM, Starbucks

China doesn’t import enough from the U.S. to match Donald Trump’s tariffs dollar for dollar, but President Xi Jinping can still squeeze American companies in other ways in retaliation. American businesses from Apple Inc. and Walmart Inc. to General Motors Co. all operate in China and are keen to expand. 

That hands Xi room to impose penalties such as customs delays, tax audits and increased regulatory scrutiny if Trump delivers on his threat of bigger duties on Chinese trade. Shares of all three companies sank Tuesday as part of a broad sell-off in global markets in response to Trump’s threat. The total amount of U.S. goods exports to China only amounted to $130 billion last year, meaning Trump’s potential tariffs on $250 billion or more of Chinese imports can’t be matched, at least directly. But if you measure both exports and sales of U.S. companies inside China, the U.S. has a surplus of $20 billion with China, according to Deutsche Bank AG.