The new tariff percentage will likely be about 10 percent, below the 25 percent announced when the Trump administration first said it was considering this round of tariffs, the Wall Street Journal said, citing sources familiar with the matter.
On Thursday, Trump suggested that the US was not in a rush to strike a trade deal with China. The US president denounced a Wednesday article in the Wall Street Journal claiming that US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin had reached out to senior Chinese officials offering another round of trade talks.
Trump promised last week that these new levy measures would not be the last, arguing that China has not given up what he considers to be unfair trade practices.
China-US trade tensions sharply escalated in March, after Trump announced high import duties on steel and aluminum. Since then, Washington and Beijing exchanged several rounds of tit-for-tat tariffs, with bilateral trade consultations failing to yield results.
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Beijing cited in its request Washington’s non-compliance with a ruling over US dumping duties. The move could lead to years of legal wrangling. In addition, Beijing has repeatedly vowed to retaliate if the US takes any new steps to impose tariffs.
According to Reuters, the new $200 billion tariff list would include various internet technology products, electronics, printed circuit boards, and consumer goods ranging from handbags to bicycles and furniture. Adding in the $200 billion list and another $267 billion of Chinese goods, total imports from China facing tariffs would exceed the $505 billion in goods that the United States imported from China last year.
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