US President Donald Trump's latest threat to go ahead with 10 per cent tariffs on an additional US$300 billion (S$413 billion) worth of Chinese goods next month triggered a fresh wave of frustration from American businesses, which see themselves caught between two protectionist presidents and paying the price of their trade war.

They warned that the cost of the tariffs, which function as a tax on imported goods, would be passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices. "I capture this whole topic in one word: testosterone. They are both beating their chests and in the meantime, they are both getting bloody," said Mr Steve Lang, chief executive of the New Jersey-based Mon Cheri Bridals boutique and president of the American Bridal and Prom Industry Association.