White House announces additional $200B in tariffs targeting China

The Trump administration on Tuesday announced a package of tariffs targeting Chinese exports valued roughly at $200 billion.

A senior administration official called the package about equal to China’s total exports the United States, CNBC reported.

“The $200 billion figure we’re looking at is roughly equal to their exports to us,” the senior official said.

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The move came just days after the administration levied its previous tariffs package, valued at around $34 billion, against Chinese imports.

China last week accused President Trump of starting “the biggest trade war in economic history” with his administration’s original round of tariffs.

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

The list of goods targeted by the tariffs has not been made public or approved yet, but the official cited by CNBC said parts of it target the country’s “Made in China 2025” initiative to boost key industries such as technology.

The Trump administration has accused companies in China of repeatedly committing intellectual property theft and other unfair trade practices, while it says China’s government remains unresponsive to its concerns.

China, meanwhile, has vowed to match any future tariffs dollar-for-dollar, signaling an escalating trade war between the two nations.

Trump’s implementation of tariffs against China as well as allies such as the European Union, Canada and Mexico have been met with denunciations both abroad and at home from trade-friendly lawmakers.

Some countries have already announced retaliatory tariffs and other moves that U.S. industries have said forced them to curb plans for expansion and investments abroad.