TRUMP PROPOSES $ 100 BIL. IN NEW TARIFFS ON CHINESE GOODS
Move comes after China announces plans to tax $ 50B in U. S. products
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has instructed the U. S. trade representative to consider slapping an additional $ 100 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods, the White House announced Thursday, in a dramatic escalation in the trade dispute between the two countries.
The news comes a day after Beijing announced plans to tax $ 50 billion in American products, including soybeans and small aircraft, in response to a U. S. move earlier this week to slap tariffs on $ 50 billion in Chinese imports.
The White House said Trump had instructed the Office of the United States Trade Representative to consider whether $ 100 bil- lion of additional tariffs would be appropriate and, if so, to identify which products they should apply to. He’s also instructed his secretary of agriculture “to implement a plan to protect our farmers and agricultural interests.”
The latest escalation comes after the U. S. on Tuesday said it would impose 25 percent duties on $ 50 billion of imports from China, and China quickly retaliated by listing $ 50 billion of products that it could hit with its own 25 percent tariffs. The Chinese list Wednesday included soybeans, the biggest U. S. export to China, and aircraft up to 45 tons in weight. Also on the list were American beef, whisky, passenger vehicles and industrial chemicals.
Earlier in the week, Beijing announced separate import duties on $ 3 billion of U. S. goods in response to the Trump administration’s duties on all steel and aluminum imports, including from China.
U. S. officials have sought to downplay the threat of a broader trade dispute, saying a negotiated outcome is still possible. But economists warn that the titfor- tat moves bear the hallmarks of a classic trade rift that could escalate. And already, tensions between the world’s two biggest economies have rattled global stock markets.