Trump considers 25 percent tariff on $200 billion of Chinese imports

The tariff battle between the U.S. and China could be about to heat up again.

The Trump administration has proposed slapping a 25% tariff on $200 billion of imported Chinese goods.

This comes after initially proposing tariffs of 10%, in a bid to pressure Beijing into making trade concessions, a source familiar with the plan told Reuters.

"The increase in the possible rate of the additional duty is intended to provide the Administration with additional options to encourage China to change its harmful policies and behavior and adopt policies that will lead to fairer markets and prosperity for all of our citizens," U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said in a statement.

President Trump's administration said on July 10 it would seek to impose the 10% tariffs on thousands of Chinese imports.

While the tariffs would not be imposed until after a period of public comment, raising the proposed level to 25% could escalate the trade dispute between the world's two biggest economies.

In July, China accused the United States of bullying and warned it would hit back.

Concerns have been that a trade war between Washington and Beijing could hit global growth.

In early July, the U.S. government imposed 25-percent tariffs on an initial $34 billion of Chinese imports.

Beijing retaliated with matching tariffs on the same amount of U.S. exports to China.