WASHINGTON – U.S. President Donald Trump has days to decide whether to impose tariffs on nearly $160 billion in Chinese consumer goods just weeks before Christmas, a move that could be unwelcome in both the United States and China. The White House's top economic and trade advisers, including Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Larry Kudlow, Peter Navarro, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are expected to meet in coming days with Trump over that decision, one person briefed on the situation said. There is still no clarity on what the decision will be. "They may very well go into effect. They may very well hold back. And the president's going to decide," the source said Monday afternoon.

American businesses are telling the Trump administration that an escalating trade war with China will hurt the U.S. economy. This comes as public hearings are being held to consider extending the 25% tariffs to practically all Chinese imports. Tariffs on imports from China could price one-fourth of U.S. families out of the market to buy a video game system this holiday season, game console makers say. Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony, in a letter to the U.S. Trade Representative's Office dated June 17, wrote that tariffs could price an Xbox, Switch or PlayStation "out of reach for many American families." Those shoppers who do buy a new game system will collectively pay $840 million more this holiday season than they would have had tariffs not been imposed, the companies say, citing a study from the independent economic group Trade Partnership for the Consumer Technology Association.

International Business Machines Corp. rode the success of old technology to big gains at the end of last year, but investors will be looking for success from newer businesses in order to believe in Big Blue's future. IBM IBM, -0.86% is scheduled to report earnings on Tuesday after the close of markets. Key points will be the potential impact of China tariffs and the company's gross margins. Most important might be the company's services revenue, which is far behind systems revenue growth despite comprising newer efforts. Don't miss: IBM broke a long losing streak thanks to some of its oldest technology Compared with the year-ago quarter, analysts expect technology services and cloud-platform revenue to rise 0.8% to $8.28 billion and cognitive-solutions revenue to rise 3.8% to $4.22 billion.

The US Trade Representative has published the list of Chinese products that would be subject to its proposed tech tariffs, and there are a few clear themes. The move would hike the costs of about 1,300 products, including industrial robots, communication satellites, spacecraft and a slew of semiconductors.The aim, as before, is to punish China for allegedly goading American companies into transferring their patents and technology to Chinese firms for the sake of claiming economic superiority. The USTR claimed the proposed tariffs would stymie Chinese plans will "minimizing the impact" on the American economy. The tariffs are still subject to a 60-day notice process that would include public comments until May 11th and a public hearing on May 15th. Whether or not it plays out as claimed is another matter.