US plans more China tariffs if Trump-Xi meeting fails — Bloomberg

WASHINGTON: The US is preparing to announce tariffs on all remaining Chinese imports by early December if talks next month between presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping fail to ease the trade war, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing unnamed sources.

According to the report, no decisions had been made but preparations for a new list of US tariffs were being made in case the TrumpXi meeting does not yield progress in resolving the US-China disputes.

A person familiar with the administration’s tariff deliberations told Reuters that there could soon be movement towards a new round of tariffs, adding “the wheels are turning” in that direction, with no further elaboration.

The Bloomberg report sent stocks lower on Monday afternoon. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down one per cent, while the Nasdaq fell 1.6 per cent, also on weakness in technology and internet shares.

Trump has long threatened to impose tariffs on all remaining Chinese imports into the US, which exceed US$257 billion, if Beijing fails to meet US demands for sweeping changes to Chinese trade, technology transfer and industrial subsidy policies.