A day after it reimposed sanctions on Iran, the Trump administration announced a second tranche of tariffs on $16 billion worth of Chinese imports, a move the Chinese government has warned will trigger another round of retaliatory tariffs on US exports.
The US will begin collecting 25% tariffs on 279 imported product lines from Aug 23, the US Trade Representative’s office said on Tuesday as it published a final tariff list. The goods are mostly industrial products ranging from chemicals to tractors.
ALSO READ: US reimposes sanctions on Iran with a warning for ROW; here is what it…
The US hopes to put pressure on China to negotiate trade concessions. It had imposed tariffs on $34 billion Chinese goods last month. Once the second tranche becomes effective, the total amount of Chinese goods subject to the Section 301 tariffs will increase to $50 billion.
The fresh tariffs have been imposed on a broad range of Chinese semiconductors, electronics, plastics, chemicals and railway equipment that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has said benefit from the “Made in China 2025” industrial plan, aimed at making China competitive in high-technology industries.
ALSO READ: China reveals plan to tax $60 bn worth American goods
The tariffs are designed to avoid consumer goods, instead focusing on machinery, chemicals, and other industrial items.
Trump has also threatened 25% tariffs on another $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, and possibly another $300 billion worth.
On Saturday Trump tweeted that his tariffs were “working far better than anybody anticipated” and had forced China to the negotiating table.
China’s Ministry of Commerce warned last week it was prepared to implement retaliatory tariffs on American goods if the US carried out its threat to launch a new round of tariffs.
The highest penalties on China’s new list would be imposed on honey, vegetables, mushrooms and chemicals, targeting farming and mining areas that supported President Donald Trump in the 2016 election.
The overseas edition of the Communist Party’s People’s Daily newspaper on Monday said Trump believes he is starring in a “street fighter-style deceitful drama of extortion and intimidation”.
Click here for Latest News updates and viral videos on our AI-powered smart news genie