Trump announces tariffs on China
President Donald Trump said yesterday that he would proceed with tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese imports and introduce new limits on Chinese investment in US hi-tech industries as part of a broad campaign to crack down on Chinese acquisition of US technology.
The moves, less than 10 days after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the trade war with China was ‘‘on hold,’’ appear designed to create bargaining leverage for Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who is due to arrive in Beijing at the weekend for talks aimed at cooling trade tensions.
The sudden policy shifts are amplifying an air of unpredictability that the president has said gives him an edge at the bargaining table, even as US trading partners complain that it erodes American credibility.
Adding to the confusion are divisions among Trump’s trade advisers and complaints from members of Congress, who fear that the president may be stumbling into a costly multifront trade war.
Along with confronting China, the Trump administration is embroiled in talks over a new North American trade deal and is threatening to impose new tariffs on imported automobiles. The president’s enthusiasm for import taxes on a variety of products has drawn opposition from powerful members of his party, including the chairmen of the Senate Finance and Agriculture committees.
Initial Chinese reaction to the White House statement was restrained. ‘‘We are very surprised by the White House statement. No matter what measures the US will take, China is confident and capable of defending our national interests,’’ the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said yesterday.
The president has been pressing China to reduce the $375 billion US goods trade deficit and to drop trade practices that he says hurt American companies. – Washington Post