Trump to impose tariffs on up to $60 billion Chinese goods

US President Donald Trump speaks on steel and aluminum tariffs watched by Dave Burkitt (R) of US Steel Corporation during a meeting with industry leaders in the Cabinet Room of the White House on March 1, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by AFP)

US President Donald Trump is seeking to impose tariffs on up to $60 billion of imports from China and will chiefly target the technology and telecommunications sectors.

While the tariffs would be mainly targeted at information technology, consumer electronics and telecoms, they could be much broader and the list could eventually run to 100 products, several people who had discussed the issue with the Trump administration said on Tuesday.

Trump came to office on a promise to shield American workers from imports.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said if the United States takes actions that harm China’s interests, China will have to take measures to firmly protect our legitimate rights.

The news website Politico earlier reported that the US Trade Representative’s office had presented Trump with a package of $30 billion in tariffs last week, but Trump told aides that this was not high enough.

US business groups have increasingly pressed Washington to take action on Beijing’s industrial policies, such as market access restrictions and the “Made in China 2025” plan, which aims to supplant foreign technologies with domestic ones.

While complaints about China’s abuse of intellectual property rights are not confined to the United States, Trump’s global steel and aluminum tariffs announced last week under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 complicate US efforts to recruit allies to put pressure on China.

A senior European diplomat in Beijing said China would be relieved to see Europe and Washington at odds over the metals tariffs.


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