WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump threatened on Monday to impose a 10 percent tariff on $200 billion of Chinese goods, escalating a tit-for-tat trade war with Beijing.
U.S. President Donald Trump addresses a meeting of the National Space Council in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., June 18, 2018. REUTERS/Leah Millis
In a statement, Trump said he had asked the U.S. trade representative to identify the Chinese products to be subject to the new tariffs. He said the move would be in retaliation for China’s decision to raise tariffs on $50 billion in U.S. goods.
“After the legal process is complete, these 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,” Trump said.
Washington and Beijing appeared increasingly headed toward open trade conflict after negotiations failed to resolve U.S. complaints over Chinese industrial policies, lack of market access in China and a $375 billion U.S. trade deficit.