There has been news circulating that China and the US are set to go back to the table to talk out their differences. However, with those talks yet to happen, the Trump administration has decided to go ahead and unleash a fresh set of tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods.
ABC AU said that the possibility of a "full-blown trade war" was not unlikely to happen, as the Chinese are reportedly trying to find ways out of accumulating even more tariffs than they could afford. There have already been $50 billion worth of Chinese goods with 25 percent of taxes already on top; another $200 billion worth is simply bad for business.
The imposition has an interesting backdrop; Beijing and Washington's "will they, won't they" approach to the talks. The main source of this tariffs-if US president Donald Trump is to be believed was the supposed violations of US intellectual property rights by the Chinese. The second round of tariffs, however, appears to be rooted in an entirely different situation.
Both sides have reportedly agreed to meet, but that was before Trump's new tariffs hit. It doesn't appear that the president had any intention to hold back on the imposition anyway; the tariffs hit just as the US and China appear to be drawing plans to meet, with teams from both Beijing and Washington waiting for a neutral ground to meet each other.
These tariffs are supposed to be lower, as CNBC states. The first set of tariffs was set at 25 percent but directed at a smaller size of goods-about $50 billion. This one is set at 10 percent, although it is directed toward a greater amount of goods at $200 billion. The Chinese are expected by Trump to react accordingly-by agreeing to talks-but that remains to be seen just yet.
The White House, for its part, gave the Chinese a clear picture of why the tariffs stand. It said in a statement that the president was just doing his job and encourage the Chinese side to address the grievances which led to the tariffs. China, on the other hand, believes that there is nothing to be gained with talks, suggesting a boycott from Beijing.
US Treasury Minister Steven Mnuchin was supposed to meet with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He. With the imposition, however, the Chinese side has lost interest but would appear to consider holding talks with a team led not by Mnuchin-who they point out have nothing to do with these tariffs-but someone else.
