The rhetoric associated with the unfolding trade war between the US and China has definitely ratcheted up a level in recent weeks. The hardening of positions is also starting to cause shockwaves, with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development warning last week that an intensification of the dispute between Washington and Beijing could knock as much as 0.7% off the level of global gross domestic product by 2021/22. As with any war, there are certain to be more casualties than victors.