This article was originally published by Michael Snyder at The Economic Collapse Blog. 

The president of the United States just threatened to end all trade with China if China does not stop buying oil from Iran.  I realize that this sounds like something that Hollywood would dream up, but this isn’t a plot from an episode of your favorite television show.  This is really happening.  President Trump has decided to raise the level of economic pressure on Iran to the maximum in a last-ditch effort to force the Iranians to make a deal to end their nuclear program.  The oil industry is the central pillar of the Iranian economy, and President Trump wants to make it impossible for them to export any oil at all.  So he is threatening to completely cut off all trade with any nation that purchases any amount of Iranian oil.

This is what a trade war looks like when it goes nuclear.

President Trump is pledging that any nation that buys Iranian oil “will not be allowed to do business with the United States of America in any way, shape, or form”.  He didn’t mention China specifically when he wrote this, but Trump knows that China buys far more oil from Iran than anyone else.

For some reason, the mainstream media is mostly ignoring this story.  But State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce has confirmed that this is now U.S. policy and that China in particular is being targeted…

“These sanctions are being imposed pursuant to President Trump’s maximum pressure campaign to drive Iran’s oil exports, including to China, to zero. China is by far the largest importer of Iranian oil. The Iranian regime uses the revenue it generates from these sales to finance attacks on U.S. allies, support terrorism around the world, and pursue other destabilizing actions,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said.

This is it.

We really have reached a moment of truth.

In 2025, approximately 90 percent of all Iranian oil exports have been purchased by China…

Shipping data from cargo tracking company Vortexa shows that 90 percent of Iranian oil exports are purchased by China, and Iranian oil exports to China hit a record high of 1.8 million barrels per day in March, Reuters reported, citing ship tracking data.

China isn’t going to stop buying oil from Iran.

I hope that I am wrong about that, but I do not believe that I am.

And I do not believe that Trump is bluffing either.

So it appears that we are about to see a full shutdown of all trade with China.

Most Americans have absolutely no idea what that will mean for us.

It is being reported that “90% of the inputs in prescription drugs consumed in the US are imported”, and a “significant portion” of those inputs are produced by the Chinese…

“Estimates show that 90% of the inputs in prescription drugs consumed in the US are imported,” said Torsten Sløk, chief economist at Apollo. A significant portion of that comes from China, making it a major supply chain risk.

Ongoing tariff disputes between Washington and Beijing have investors on edge, especially in healthcare and pharmaceuticals, where any price shock could ripple across the industry and impact both investors and patients.

This is a really big deal, because as I have discussed previously, more than 60 percent of all U.S. adults are currently taking at least one pharmaceutical drug.

According to supply chain analytics company Exiger, about 80 percent of the active ingredients in our pharmaceutical drugs come from China…

According to a report from the supply chain analytics company Exiger released last week, the US relies on China for as much as 80 percent of active pharmaceutical ingredients. For generic antibiotics, in particular, the dependence is much higher at 90 percent.

If there is a complete shutdown of trade with China, you are going to see drug shortages like you have never seen before.

I wish that I was exaggerating, but I am not.

Even 95 percent of our ibuprofen comes from China.

Good luck getting ibuprofen when none is coming across the Pacific Ocean.

Of course there will be shortages in countless other industries as well.

Right now, most of our computers and phones are made in China…

According to Bloomberg, the U.S. relies on imports from China for a majority of the following products by value: game consoles (86%, $6 billion), PC monitors (79%, $5 billion), smartphones (73%, $41 billion), lithium-ion batteries (70%, $16 billion), and laptops (66%, $32 billion).

This means consumers and businesses that need these products will have few to zero alternatives for products that do not come from China.

Our stores are filled with televisions, appliances, toys, and other products that are made in China.

I hate to say it, but our economy literally cannot function normally without Chinese-made goods.

We should never have allowed this to happen, but this is the reality of the scenario that we are now facing.

The good news is that it appears that the Chinese are still leaving the door open for a potential deal…

China has said it’s evaluating approaches from US officials to start negotiations about tariffs, a potential deescalation in the trade war that has raised hopes formal trade talks could start soon.

“If we fight, we will fight to the end; if we talk, the door is open,” China’s commerce ministry stated on Friday. “The tariff war and trade war were unilaterally initiated by the United States. If the United States wants to talk, it should show its sincerity and be prepared to correct its wrong practices and cancel the unilateral tariffs.”

Hopefully, the U.S. and China will sit down and talk, and hopefully, both sides will be in a mood to make significant compromises.

Because if we stay on the path that we are currently on, it will be a nightmare.

Even before the trade war erupted about a month ago, many U.S. consumers were stocking up in anticipation of the coming tariffs…

Similarly, according to a survey of 1,000 consumers by NielsenIQ done in March, 31% of consumers said they were stocking up on groceries in anticipation of tariffs while others said they were expediting non-grocery purchases before tariff-related price increases took effect.

Have you been stocking up?

I hope so.

If there are any Chinese-made products that you will need in the months ahead, get them now.

If all trade with China is suddenly brought to a screeching halt, it is going to throw our society into a state of great chaos.

Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book, entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next,” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.  He has also written nine other books that are available on Amazon.com, including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”.  When you purchase any of Michael’s books, you help to support the work that he is doing.  You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter.  Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream, and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites.  These are such troubled times, and people need hope.  John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.