Trump to hit China with ‘significant’ tariffs

WASHINGTON: United States President Donald Trump has made up his mind to impose ‘‘pretty significant’’ tariffs on Chinese goods, an administration official said yesterday, as Beijing warned that it was ready to respond if Washington chose to increase trade tensions.

Trump is due to unveil revisions to his initial tariff list targeting $US50 billion ($NZ72 billion) of Chinese goods today. The list will contain 800 product categories, down from 1300 previously, according to another administration official and an industry source familiar with the list.

Trump no longer believed Beijing’s influence over North Korea was a compelling reason to ease up on trade talks now his administration had opened up a direct line of communication with the nucleararmed country, the first administration official said.

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin argued against imposing the tariffs at a White House meeting yesterday but he was not expected to prevail, the official said.

The Chinese Government’s top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, said his country was prepared to respond if Trump went ahead with imposing the tariffs.

Speaking to reporters in Beijing, with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at his side, Wang said there were two choices when it came to the trade issue.

‘‘The first choice is cooperation and mutual benefit. The other choice is confrontation and mutual loss. China chooses the first,’’ Wang said.

The move towards imposing US tariffs on Chinese goods follows negotiations between US and Chinese officials centred on increased purchases by Beijing of American farm and energy commodities and cutting the US trade deficit with China.

US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross this month met Chinese officials in Beijing and brought back a Chinese proposal to buy about $US70 billion worth of additional commodities and manufactured goods. But that offer had not been accepted by Trump, people familiar with the matter said.

Pompeo said the US deficit with China was still too high, but that they had good talks.

The International Monetary Fund warned that Trump’s new tariffs threaten to undermine the global trading system, prompt retaliation by other countries and damage the US economy. — Reuters