Trump threatens tariffs on all $500 bln of Chinese imports

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump yesterday said he was ready to impose tariffs on all $500 billion of imported goods from China, threatening to escalate a clash over trade policy that has unnerved financial markets.

“We’re down a tremendous amount,” Trump said in an interview about trade imbalances with China on CNBC television broadcast on Friday. “I’m ready to go to 500.”

His comments worried investors already grappling with the impact of a strengthening U.S. dollar on corporate results, and key stock indexes on Wall Street dropped at the open on Friday.

The U.S. dollar fell against major currencies on Friday on Trumps threat to impose more import tariffs and his repetition of complaints about rising interest rates and the strength of the U.S. dollar.

The dollar index, a measure of its value against a basket of six major currencies, was on track to post its largest one-day loss in three weeks. Against the yen, the dollar was on pace for its worst daily fall in two months.

A top Federal Reserve official, meanwhile, warned the trade war could hurt the U.S. economy.

Around $505 billion of Chinese goods were imported to the U.S. in 2017, leading to a trade deficit of nearly $376 billion, U.S. government data shows. Chinese imports from the U.S. totaled $205 billion in the first five months of 2018, with the deficit reaching $152 billion.