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Trump 'likely' to announce new China tariffs as early as Monday: source

Published 09/15/2018, 06:38 PM
Updated 09/15/2018, 06:38 PM
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: China Shipping containers sit on a ship in the Port of Los Angeles after being imported to the U.S.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: China Shipping containers sit on a ship in the Port of Los Angeles after being imported to the U.S.

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump is likely to announce new tariffs on about $200 billion on Chinese imports as early as Monday, a senior administration official told Reuters on Saturday.

The tariff level will probably be about 10 percent, the Wall Street Journal reported, quoting people familiar with the matter. This is below the 25 percent the administration said it was considering for this possible round of tariffs.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The upcoming tariffs will be on a list of items that included $200 billion worth of internet technology products and other electronics, printed circuit boards and consumer goods including Chinese seafood, furniture and lighting products, tires, chemicals, plastics, bicycles and car seats for babies. It was unclear if the administration will exempt any of the products that were on the list, which was announced in July.

On Friday, White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said Trump "has been clear that he and his administration will continue to take action to address China's unfair trade practices. We encourage China to address the long-standing concerns raised by the Unites States."

Trump had already directed aides to proceed with tariffs, despite Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's attempts to restart trade talks with China.

One observer in the business sector said the administration may have reduced its planned tariff level after hearing public comments, hoping companies would not immediately hike prices for consumer goods to pass along the costs. Still, the additional tariffs could complicate trade talks with China expected later this month.

Trump has demanded that China cut its $375 billion trade surplus with the United States, end policies aimed at acquiring U.S. technologies and intellectual property and roll back high-tech industrial subsidies.

This week, the world's two largest economies appeared to be making progress on trade. Treasury invited senior Chinese officials, including Vice Premier Liu He, for more talks.

The administration has already levied duties on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods following a study on China's intellectual property practices released earlier this year.

On Sept. 7, Trump warned that he had further tariffs ready to go on $267 billion worth of Chinese imports beyond those that will be targeted this week. If all of the tariffs were invoked, total imports from China facing tariffs would exceed the $505 billion in goods that the United States imported from China last year.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: China Shipping containers sit on a ship in the Port of Los Angeles after being imported to the U.S.

This year, imports from China through July were up nearly 9 percent from the same period of 2017, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

Latest comments

dont count on it, Trump 4 more years by far better than any president since regan thats for sure,
Any student of history can see just how wrong that belief is. Trump inherited a roaring economy with all the hard work of recovering from the Great Recession (thanks GOP for that one too) in place. Just like everything else he's ever touched, he has taken the greatest recovery from world wide economic collapse in history and threatened to destroy it with unnecessary and frankly unwise turmoil. Your blinded by your politics. A flattening yeild curve is the first indicator of an economy beginning to feel the stress of the risks imposed by the big orange orangutan governing by 4 am tweet
cant wait til orange nut job is gone
Who cares? Corporate thugs will continue to burn cash to prop stocks while they cash out... Then short.... Boom market crash
10% ia very low, margins are waaay larger for most of china imports. I see no price increse for the end consummer, and a little cash inflow for the federal budget.
you think corporations are going to simply eat 10% and absorb costs? In what world do you live in? The Chinese response is the real issue. Export restrictions will starve US companies of the raw goods they need to build their end products further escalating am unnecessary trade war.
this is bullish china stocks. alot thought 25% tariffs. 10% more managable
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