WASHINGTON: US President Trump could announce tariffs on Chinese goods this week, a move that could inflame tension between the world's top economies as the United States also face prospects of trade war with its closest allies, including the EU.
The US has accused China of forcefully transferring technology owned by the US companies to boost its own technological and economic development to justify its decision of tariffs on about 1,300 goods.
Last month, President Trump ordered to finalize this list of targeted goods that would be hit with a 25 percent tariff.
One of Trump's trade advisers said on Tuesday that the President was planning to impose tariffs on 'subset' of Chinese products that the administration had included in the original list of targeted products worth $50 billion announced in April, a news report said. Quoting two unnamed sources, a news report said that it could be as soon as this week.
The comments were seen as an indication that the Trump administration will go ahead with the plan to impose tariffs on Chinese goods in spite of improving ties between the US and China in the wake of cooperation Beijing extended to bring North Korean leader to the negotiating table.
Following his successful summit with Korean Leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore this week, President Trump spoke about his personal friendship with Chinese President Xi Jinping, but said that China has not done enough to closing its border to trade with North Korea in recent months, an issue that has contributed to strain trade ties between the two countries.
The report said that while the original list of products that was identified by the Trump administration for tariff was likely to remain intact, the duties may be imposed on a smaller group of products from the list.
According to the report, the administration is now considering a separate list of additional items that would be subject to more public input and on which tariffs could be imposed at a later date and would likely focus on items that China could promote for exports in future years as part of its Made in China 2025 plan.
Reports of new tariffs on Chinese goods come at a time when prospects of trade wars are looming large between the US and its closes allies, including the EU, Canada and Mexico after Trump imposed tariffs on iron and aluminum. These countries have threatened to retaliate with imposing tariffs on US goods.
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