India, March 13 -- Tariffs placed by Donald Trump on China, Mexico and Canada have become the cause for concern about whether a recession is coming to the country. Now, many Americans are wondering just how likely a recession is-and what it would mean if the economy were to take a downturn.

GDP growth that has two consecutive quarters of negative real growth is often defined as a recession. GDP means the total of the value of goods and services made within a country over a given period.

However, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) says a recession is a "significant decline in economic activity that is spread across the economy and that lasts more than a few months."

Goldman Sachs recently increased its odds of a US recessio...