Trump prepares tariffs on additional $200B in Chinese goods

President Trump on Tuesday released another list of Chinese products that could be hit by tariffs as soon as this fall. 

The Trump administration said it will look at slapping tariffs of $200 billion on Chinese products over Beijing’s failure to respond to U.S. efforts to get them to change their trade practices.

The new list comes days after the U.S. levied a 25 percent tariff on $34 billion in Chinese imports, which resulted in retaliatory tariffs by Beijing of the same amount against U.S. goods.

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“As a result of China’s retaliation and failure to change its practices, the president has ordered USTR to begin the process of imposing tariffs of 10 percent on an additional $200 billion of Chinese imports,” said U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in a statement.

Lighthizer said that the Trump administration has urged China to stop its unfair practices and open its market.

“We have been very clear and detailed regarding the specific changes China should undertake,” he said.

“Unfortunately, China has not changed its behavior — behavior that puts the future of the U.S. economy at risk.”

The tariffs would hit a wide range of Chinese products from tuna, cobia and swordfish, to vegetables, nuts, fruits and various minerals.

The USTR produced a 200-page report that found China has led to the forced transfer and theft of intellectual property and technology, which the agency argues is hurting the U.S. economy.

The U.S. and China each have said they will levy tariffs on another $16 billion of each other’s goods in the coming months, for $50 billion total by each country.

China has said they will match any U.S. tariffs moves. 

But Trump’s aggressive tariffs have put businesses on edge and are frustrating pro-trade Republicans on Capitol Hill. 

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said that “although I have supported the administration’s targeted efforts to combat China’s technology transfer regime, tonight’s announcement appears reckless and is not a targeted approach.”

“We cannot turn a blind eye to China’s mercantilist trade practices, but this action falls short of a strategy that will give the administration negotiating leverage with China while maintaining the long-term health and prosperity of the American economy,” Hatch said in a statement.

A final decision on the tariffs will be made sometime after Aug. 30, officials said during a call with the media on Tuesday. 

Hearings are set for Aug. 20 and 21.

“American retailers and the families we serve barely had time to process the barrage of tariffs implemented last week,” said Hun Quach, vice president of international trade of the Retail Industry Leaders Association.

“The administration cannot continue to move the goal post,” Quach said.

“Unless the administration finds meaningful solutions, American businesses, families and jobs are on the losing end of this battle.”

The list’s release will be followed by weeks of deliberations and it will not necessarily be approved, but its release will mark the latest escalation in a dramatic trade war between the U.S. and China.

China last week said Trump started “the biggest trade war in economic history” with the original round of tariffs.

“China is forced to strike back to safeguard core national interests and the interests of its people,” the Commerce Ministry said in a statement to CNN last week.

Trump’s steep tariffs on products from the European Union, China, Mexico, and Canada have brought waves of retaliatory tariffs from those countries.

Many U.S. industries, especially agriculture and manufacturing, have said the moves will hurt American workers and damage the U.S. economy.

Some companies planning to move some of their production abroad to avoid the tariffs.

Updated: 7:44 p.m.