REUTERS/Thomas Peter
The Trump administration has released a gargantuan list of Chinese goods that will be subject to tariffs, kicking a burgeoning trade war into high gear.
The new 10% tariffs will apply to a huge amount of items including seafood and other fresh goods, according to the list released by US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.
“As a result of China’s retaliation [the introduction of tariffs on $34 billion worth of US imports] and failure to change its practices, the President has ordered the US Trade Representative (USTR) to begin the process of imposing tariffs of 10% on an additional $200 billion of Chinese imports,” Lighthizer said.
The tariffs are in addition to Trump’s 25% tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods. Tariffs on the first $34 billion worth of goods went into place on Friday. The second round, which will apply to around $16 billion worth of Chinese goods, is set to be imposed in the coming weeks. That second round will be derived from a list already released by the US Trade Representative.
The release of the $200 billion list is perhaps the most concrete step yet toward an all-out trade war with China and triggers a formal process to implement the tariffs. The next step will be a comment period, during which businesses and consumers can raise issues with the inclusion of certain goods on the list.
“This is an appropriate response under the authority of Section 301 to obtain the elimination of China’s harmful industrial policies,” Lighthizer said in his statement. “USTR will proceed with a transparent and comprehensive public notice and comment process prior to the imposition of final tariffs, as we have for previous tariffs.”
The developments mean roughly half of all Chinese imports to the US will be subject to increased duties.
The move was immediately attacked by industry groups and trade experts who warned that the back-and-forth tariffs will increase costs for consumers and discourage investment by businesses into new hiring and equipment. These decisions in turn will slow down the US economy.
David French, the senior vice president for government relations at the National Retail Federation, said that the majority of the pain from the new tariffs would fall on US consumers and families.
“The latest list of $200 billion of products to be subject to tariffs against China doubles down on a reckless strategy that will boomerang back to harm US families and workers,” French said. “The threat to the U.S. economy is less about a question of ‘if’ and more about ‘when’ and ‘how bad.'”
Jay Timmons, the president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), also expressed displeasure with Trump’s announcement.
“The last thing America’s manufacturing workers need is an escalating trade war,” Timmons said in a statement. “America has China’s attention, so instead of more tariffs, the US and China should immediately begin working toward a fair, bilateral, enforceable, rules-based trade agreement to end China’s market-distorting activities.”
Even members of Trump’s own party slammed the administration’s announcement.
“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,” GOP Sen. Orrin Hatch, chair of the Senate Finance Committee said in a statement. “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.”
Trump has warned that if the Chinese decide to counter the tariffs on $200 billion worth of goods, a fourth round of restrictions will hit another $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. In the event all threats are realised, Trump will have hit just over 80% of all Chinese exports to the US with tariffs.
So far, Chinese officials have not backed off their promises to retaliate to any Trump tariff move. On Friday, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said Trump started the “largest trade war in economic history.”
Following the release of the news, markets around the world were in flux. US stock futures tanked, while the Chinese yuan also weakened against the US dollar.
