trade war
noun[C]
COMMERCE,POLITICSukusasituationin which two or morecountriesraiseimporttaxesandquotas(=limitsonnumbersofgoods)totrytoprotecttheirowneconomies:
avert/avoid/start a trade warTheagreementwillhelpthe twocountriesavertatradewar.
Theissuehadthreatenedtoescalateinto afull-blowntradewar.
adamagingtradewar