The Trump administration plans to propose slapping a 25-percent tariff on $200b of imported Chinese goods after initially setting them at 10 percent, in a bid to pressure Beijing into making trade concessions.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer today released the following statement in support of the President’s direction that the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) identify $200b worth of Chinese goods for additional 10 percent tariffs to address China’s harmful trade policies and practices:
"I support the President’s action. The initial tariffs that the President asked us to put in place were proportionate and responsive to forced technology transfer and intellectual property theft by the Chinese. It is very unfortunate that instead of eliminating these unfair trading practices China said that it intends to impose unjustified tariffs targeting U.S. workers, farmers, ranchers, and businesses. At the President’s direction, USTR is preparing the proposed tariffs to offset China’s action."
USTR will announce the additional tariffs proposed and provide a similar legal process as the proposed tariffs announced on April 3, 2018 and which are now implemented. No additional tariffs will go into effect until the legal process is complete.
Source: cnbc.com.
