U.S. President Donald Trump's move of imposing 10 percent in tariffs on another $300 billion in Chinese products was reportedly met with opposition from his advisers. The president still pushed through with the tax duties announcement.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that people with knowledge of the matter said a heated exchange between White House advisers and Trump took place for around two hours before he announced the new tariffs.
The president reportedly received help in composing his announcement on social media.
It appears that even Trump's advisers believe a new set of tariffs will not help boost the global economy even if it puts pressure on the Chinese government. Furthermore, the report stated that Trump resorted to overruling his advisers due to the opposition his insistence received.
The people further revealed that almost the entire trade team in Washington did not see Trump's proposal eye to eye. However, Trump went on to tweet on Thursday that the tax duties will take effect on September 1.
Among the advisers who reportedly objected to Trump's new tariffs are acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, national security advisor John Bolton, and finally, the well renowned top White House economic advisor, Larry Kudlow.
Washington has yet to confirm the reports, but it appears that Beijing has finally hit back after last week's market-shaking tariff announcement. According to Bloomberg, the Chinese government requested from state-owned firms to stop importing American farm products.
Aside from halting orders of U.S. agricultural goods, Beijing has reportedly allowed the Chinese yuan to fall to its weakest yet in 10 years on Monday. Some economists stated that Trump's trade war will get worse as the U.S. retains a hard-line stance and keeps resorting to tariff impositions.
"China is giving up on its softer diplomatic strategy and is no longer willing to be Trump's punching bag. Trump's tariffs threats are backfiring and triggering a full-scale trade war," economist at Maybank Kim Eng Research Pte., Chua Hak Bin, said.
Capital Economics' Julian Evans-Pritchard echoed Chua's statements. For Evans-Pritchard, China's move could be a sign that it will no longer push for a trade deal and will just wait for its American counterpart to make another move.
Before Trump announced the new tariffs, business experts and economists have warned that a full-blown trade war will also hurt the U.S. as much as it will beat China. Last week, UBS bank predicted that the world's largest economy could experience a massive movement of stores closing down if the dispute continues.
It remains to be seen if trade talks will resume this month before the new tariffs take effect. The two sides have yet to confirm or deny if negotiations will push through.
