Donald Trump, the president of the United States, announced that he will be increasing the tariffs on US$200 billion worth of Chinese goods. He revealed that an increase of 25 percent will take effect this week.
The POTUS explained that because the US-China talks on trade are moving very slowly, he was compelled to impose a higher tax rate on merchandise from China. The plan was revealed just two days before the Chinese trade talks delegation is set to arrive in Washington on Wednesday, May 8.
"For 10 months, China has been paying tariffs to the U.S.A. of 25 percent on 50 billion dollars of high tech, and 10 percent on 200 billion dollars of other goods," Trump wrote on Twitter. "These payments are partially responsible for our great economic results. The 10 percent will go up to 25 percent on Friday."
According to CNBC, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative stated that import goods from China have reached a total of US$539.5 billion and the trade deficit in 2018 was US$419.2 billion. The news outlet noted that if Trump will implement his threats on new tariffs, then this means that all goods coming from China will surely come with some kind of tariff.
In any case, It was added that aside from opening the Chinese market to the US for imports, Trump is also pushing for Beijing to stop its practice of pressuring American companies that have businesses in China to share their technology. The U.S. president also wants the Chinese to stop intellectual property theft and fund state-owned companies.
For his demands to be granted, Trump is pressuring China by threatening to add additional tariffs on all Chinese goods that will be shipped to the U.S. Despite the tensions, Mike Pence, the U.S. VP, said Trump is still optimistic that China and the U.S. would strike a deal through the ongoing trade talks.
Meanwhile, in the latest update about the talks between Washington and Beijing, it was reported that the officials are close to reaching an amicable agreement. The U.S. press secretary Sarah Sanders relayed that "Discussions remain focused toward making substantial progress on important structural issues and re-balancing the U.S.-China trade relationship."
