- Trump Imposes 10% Tariffs on $200 Billion Worth of Chinese Imports
President Donald Trump finally imposed 10 percent tariffs on additional $200 billion worth of Chinese imports on Monday and threatened to raise it to 25 percent by the end of the year.
“If China takes retaliatory action against our farmers or other industries, we will immediately pursue phase three, which is tariffs on approximately $267 billion of additional imports,” the president said in a statement.
The action has now escalated the trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies as China threatens to retaliate against the new tariffs and accused the U.S of hurting global economy.
“China has always emphasized that the only correct way to resolve the China-U.S. trade issue is via talks and consultations held on an equal, sincere and mutually respectful basis. But at this time, everything the United States does not give the impression of sincerity or goodwill,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Tuesday.
The U.S has already imposed tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese products, forcing Beijing to retaliate with similar measures on $50 billion worth of American goods.
Experts from affected industries have said tariffs will hurt global economy and further push back productivity at a time when Brexit negotiation is at a critical stage.
Jay Timmons, President of National Association of Manufacturers in the US said: “With every day that passes without progress on a rules-based, bilateral trade agreement with China, the potential grows for manufacturers and manufacturing workers to get hurt. No one wins in a trade war, and manufacturing workers are hopeful the administration’s approach will quickly yield results.”
However, President Donald Trump believed tariffs have strengthened U.S bargaining power ahead of potential talks.
“Tariffs have put the U.S. in a very strong bargaining position, with Billions of Dollars, and Jobs, flowing into our Country – and yet cost increases have thus far been almost unnoticeable. If countries will not make fair deals with us, they will be ‘Tariffed!'”
