Trump slaps China with fresh tariffs

WASHINGTON: United States President Donald Trump escalated his trade war with Beijing, imposing 10 per cent tariffs on about US$200 billion worth of imports in a move one senior Chinese regulator said “poisoned” the atmosphere for negotiations.

Trump also warned in a statement on Monday that if China takes retaliatory action against US farmers or industries, “we will immediately pursue phase three, which is tariffs on about US$267 billion of additional imports”.

China is reviewing plans to send a delegation to Washington for fresh talks in light of the US decision, the South China Morning Post reported yesterday, citing a government source in Beijing, raising the risk of a prolonged trade battle between the world’s largest economies that could hit global growth.

US trade actions against China will not work as China has ample fiscal and monetary policy tools to cope with the impact, a senior securities market official said.

“Trump ... tries to put pressure on China so he can get concessions from our negotiations. That kind of tactic is not going to work with China,” Fang Xinghai, vicechairman of China’s securities regulator, said at a conference in Tianjin, China.

Collection of tariffs on the longanticipated list will start on September 24 but the rate will increase to 25 per cent by yearend, allowing US companies some time to adjust their supply chains to alternate countries.

China said yesterday it had no choice but to retaliate against the new trade tariffs, raising the risk that Trump could soon impose duties on virtually all of the Chinese goods that America buys.

The brief statement gave no details on China’s plans, but Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said later the US steps have brought “new uncertainty” to talks between the two countries.

He said details would be released at the appropriate time.