Trump threatens $500 bn of China goods with tariffs
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said he’s “ready to go” with tariffs on $500 billion of Chinese imports, saying the US has been taken advantage of for too long.
“I’m not doing this for politics. I’m doing this to do the right thing for our country,” Trump said in a CNBC interview aired Friday.
“We are being taken advantage of and I don’t like it.”
The $500 billion figure is about the value of Chinese goods imported into the US last year. S&P stock-index futures declined along with the Stoxx Europe 600 gauge after Trump’s comments aired.
The threat is likely to put further strain on a trade dispute between the world’s two biggest economies.
China accused American officials of making false accusations on Thursday as it fired back against a claim Chinese President Xi Jinping is blocking talks with the US. Earlier, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Xi has no intention of making a deal over trade with the Trump administration.
Trump earlier this month imposed 25% tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese goods, with another $16 billion to follow soon.
The administration has also released a list of 10% tariffs on an additional $200 billion of Chinese goods, which could take effect as early as next month. China retaliated on the first wave of tariffs by slapping duties on the same dollar amount of US imports, and Beijing has said it’ll fight against any further US actions.
Trump also launched a fresh attack on American trading partners, saying the EU and China were manipulating their currencies as he took another swipe at the US central bank.
The harsh comments took fresh aim at pillars of the international economic system and compounded Trump’s break with long-established norms by again openly rebuking the Federal Reserve.
They also signaled an undiminished appetite for battle on multiple fronts after a week dominated by coverage of the fallout from his dealings with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In a pair of tweets, Trump said China, the European Union and others had been “manipulating their currencies and interest rates lower” while the dollar gained in strength, eroding “our big competitive edge.”