Trump threatens to slap China with $200 billion in new tariffs
President Donald Trump on Monday said his administration will pursue a new round of tariffs on Chinese goods, responding to retaliatory levies from Beijing.
Marking the latest salvo in a tit-for-tat dispute over trade, Trump directed U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to identify $200 billion worth of Chinese goods that would be hit with a 10% tariff, according to a statement from the White House. Trump said the new tariffs will go into effect “if China refuses to change its practices, and also if it insists on going forward with the new tariffs that it has recently announced.”
The U.S. will prepare tariffs on another $200 billion in Chinese products, doubling the total amount, if China chooses to respond by raising its own tariffs again.
“The trade relationship between the United States and China must be much more equitable,” Trump said.
Trump recently approved $50 billion in tariffs on Chinese imports, arguing that China has stolen U.S. technology and violated intellectual property rights. In retaliation, China proposed its own tariffs targeting $50 billion in U.S. goods, including pork, beef and cars.
With threats of tariffs, the Trump administration has waged a pressure campaign in hopes of convincing China and other governments to allow for more U.S. investments and exports. Some lawmakers have opposed the moves over concerns about a potential trade war with China, the world’s second largest economy behind the U.S.
The U.S. has also imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum shipped from China and other trade partners. Canada, Mexico and the European Union have said they will hit back with tariffs on a variety of U.S. products, such as orange juice and whiskey.