Trump ready to tax all Chinese imports Threat likely to put further strain on dispute between economies

Merkel warns of counter-measures over car tariffs threat

President Donald Trump said in an interview released on Friday he is willing to hit all Chinese goods imported to the US with tariffs if necessary.

"I'm ready to go 500," the Republican leader told the US network CNBC, referring to the $505.5 billion in Chinese imports accepted into the US in 2017.

"I'm not doing this for politics, I'm doing this to do the right thing for our country," Trump said.

"We've been ripped off by China for a long time," he added. After weeks of apparently fruitless negotiations, the US early this month imposed 25 per cent tariffs on approximately $34 billion of Chinese mechanical and technological products -sparking an immediate response from Beijing, which said it would hit back dollar for dollar. China accused the US of starting the "largest trade war in economic history." A second tranche of $16 billion in products is under review and could soon be added to the US measures.

In the full interview released Friday Trump reiterated his claim that the US is "being taken advantage of" on issues including trade policy. "I don't want them to be scared. I want them to do well," the US president said of China. "I really like President Xi a lot. But it was very unfair." The US-China spat is the largest and broadest of several trade fights picked by Trump. The growing share of international trade under threat has raised the prospect the escalating trade war could harm the global economy by disrupting companies supply chains, pushing firms to hold off on investments and making goods more expensive for consumers.

In excerpts of the interview released on Thursday Trump had broken with the long-established executive branch practice of not commenting on the Federal Reserve's decisions out of respect for its independence.

"I'm not thrilled," Trump told the network in an interview excerpt aired Thursday. "Because we go up and every time you go up they want to raise rates again." BERLIN: German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday warned the US of counter-measures if it imposed punitive tariffs on European cars, saying the move would only create "losers and cause retaliation", the media reported. "We have regarding trade a very, very serious situation in the world, I want to clearly state this," said Merkel. "We don't want these tariffs, we believe that we will damage each other, not only that we in the EU will be harmed but that these can have a far broader impact," she said, adding they would pose "a real danger for the prosperity of many in the world." Merkel's comments came days before European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is due to meet US President Donald Trump on Wednesday to discuss ways to prevent the punitive tariffs. "These (talks) are our preferred course of action," Merkel said. "But should they not lead to results, we in the EU, as you have heard, will discuss countermeasures. But this is by far the worst solution.”

The Trump administration is weighing import duties of 20 per cent to 25 per cent on European automotive products on national security grounds. The threat puts more than $50 billion worth of European imports at risk and has created panic in Europe's largest economy.