US to impose extra tariffs on $200bn of Chinese imports

July 11

06:54 2018

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Washington says it has decided to impose 10 percent tariffs on an extra $200 billion worth of Chinese imports after efforts to negotiate a solution to the trade dispute failed to reach an agreement.

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer made the announcement in a statement on Tuesday, releasing a wide-ranging list of Chinese goods to be hit with the new set of tariffs, including hundreds of food products as well as tobacco, coal, chemicals, and consumer electronics.

Last week, President Donald Trump’s administration imposed 25 percent tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese imports, and Beijing, accusing Washington of “trade bullying,” responded immediately with matching tariffs on the same amount of US exports to China.

“For over a year, the Trump administration has patiently urged China to stop its unfair practices, open its market, and engage in true market competition,” Lighthizer said in the statement.

“Rather than address our legitimate concerns, China has begun to retaliate against US products … There is no justification for such action,” he added.

“As a result of China's retaliation and failure to change its practices, the President has ordered USTR to begin the process of imposing tariffs of 10 percent on an additional $200 billion of Chinese imports,” Lighthizer noted.

The new tariffs will have to go through a two-month review before taking effect.

On July 6, Trump said the United States may ultimately slap tariffs on more than $500 billion worth of Chinese products – roughly the total amount of US imports from China last year.

This photo taken on May 31, 2018 shows cars to be exported at a port in Lianyungang in China's eastern Jiangsu Province. (By AFP)

Trump has accused Beijing of intellectual property theft and barriers to entry for US businesses and a $375 billion US trade deficit with China. He has already started charging levies on the imports of steel and aluminum from the European Union, Mexico and Canada.

China says Washington is “opening fire” on the world with its raft of tariffs aimed at Beijing as well as at trade partners in North America and Europe.