China imposes new tariffs on $60 billion of US goods: report

China’s Commerce Ministry announced Tuesday that it is implementing new tariffs on $60 billion of U.S. goods starting Sept. 24, according to Reuters.

The move comes in response to new tariffs put in place Monday by the White House on $200 billion of Chinese imports, with implementation slated for Sept. 24. Those tariffs will begin at 10 percent and then increase to 25 percent at the end of the year.

{mosads}The U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports cover a wide range of goods such as fish, vegetables, nuts, grains, orange juice and metals including titanium and uranium.

President Trump had previously threatened an additional round of tariffs on $267 billion of Chinese goods if Beijing responded to the most recent U.S. round announced on Monday. A third round of tariffs has the potential to more than cover the entirety of China’s exports to the United States.

“China has had many opportunities to fully address our concerns,” Trump said a statement Monday. “Once again, I urge China’s leaders to take swift action to end their country’s unfair trade practices. Hopefully, this trade situation will be resolved, in the end, by myself and President Xi of China, for whom I have great respect and affection.”

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Tuesday that the administration’s goal is to get China to change its trade practices.

“The purpose of the tariffs is to modify China’s behavior, especially in technology transfers and other abuse of tactics such as subsidies and market limitations,” Ross said on CNBC. “The real purpose is not to end up with tariffs. The real purpose is to end up with a level playing field so that American firms can compete properly.”

The White House’s trade policies have not been met with praise in Washington.

“Any time tariffs are imposed I worry that Americans will be forced to pay extra costs — in this case on nearly half of U.S. imports from China,” House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) said Monday.

Republicans are concerned that the trade war will hurt their message of a strong economy heading into the November midterm elections. Several Democratic senators running in agricultural states that Trump won in 2016 could be buoyed by dissatisfaction with the administration’s trade policies.

Updated at 10:10 a.m.