China fires back at Trump with tariffs on $60 billion of goods

The U.S.-China trade war deepened as Beijing announced retaliatory tariffs on $60 billion of U.S. goods and the Trump administration threatened duties on virtually all Chinese imports.

On Monday, President Donald Trump ordered his administration to levy 10 percent tariffs on about $200 billion in Chinese goods on Sept. 24 and to increase the rate in January to 25 percent if Beijing refuses to offer trade concessions. In retaliation, Beijing has announced plans to hit U.S. goods, ranging from wheat to textiles, with 5 percent to 10 percent tariffs.

Stocks shrugged off the latest ratcheting up of trade tensions, with the S&P 500 Index, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite Index all higher as of 4:22 p.m. in New York. The calm reaction has some investors saying the markets had already priced in 10 percent tariffs and that it could’ve been worse.

The sides also indicated there could still be scope to reach a trade deal. The Chinese government is still willing to negotiate, the country’s finance ministry said on Tuesday. Kevin Hassett, the chairman of Trump’s Council of Economic Advisers, said he ex- pected that U.S.-China talks can still take place.

Neither government has officially announced that trade negotiations will resume after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin extended an invitation to his counterparts in Beijing earlier this month. “I’m hopeful that the talks happen next week,” Hassett told MSNBC Television on Tuesday. “I’ve not heard they’ve been canceled.”

Still, a solution to the trade conflict seems a long way off.

Trump on Monday said that the U.S. will immediately pursue additional tariffs on about $267 billion of Chinese imports if Beijing strikes back against American farmers and industry. Such a move would mean that roughly all U.S. imports of Chinese goods — worth about $505 billion last year — would be subjected to tariffs.

Trump doubled down on that threat Tuesday, vowing punitive measures against China if it targets politically potent U.S. agricultural products for retaliation.

“China has openly stated that they are actively trying to impact and change our election by attacking our farmers, ranchers and industrial workers because of their loyalty to me,” Trump said on Twitter. “What China does not understand is that these people are great patriots.”