President Donald Trump said on Monday that he has ordered his top trade officials to identify $200 billion more worth of Chinese goods that would be subject to tariffs should Beijing not abandon its plan to retaliate against $50 billion in U.S. tariffs announced recently.
His comments further aggravated tensions and escalated the ongoing trade conflict between Washington and Beijing, The Hill reports. Trump said that China’s intention to retaliate in kind against his first batch of duties called for a U.S. response to force China to change its unfair practices.
“China apparently has no intention of changing its unfair practices related to the acquisition of American intellectual property and technology,” President Trump said in a statement.
The President said he had asked Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to find an additional $200 billion worth of Chinese goods to be subject to a 10 percent import tax. He added that after “the legal process is complete” the duties will go into effect unless China decides to change its practices.
“If China increases its tariffs yet again, we will meet that action by pursuing additional tariffs on another $200 billion of goods,” Trump said. ”The trade relationship between the United States and China must be much more equitable.”
China’s commerce ministry described the threat as “blackmail” and warned of “strong countermeasures” in the trade war the United States has incited.
The first round of U.S. tariffs on steel, aluminum and agricultural goods – announced on Friday – worth $34 billion will go into effect on July 6, while the second one worth $16 billion will undergo further review, Lighthizer said last week.
Analysts are worried that neither the U.S. nor China will back down, causing an all-out trade war which could eventually destabilize the global economy. According to Trump, the tariffs threat was necessary to rebalance the U.S. trade relationship with China, which resulted in a $337 billion U.S. deficit in goods and services last year.
Trump has repeatedly criticized China’s economic and trade practices, while touting his relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping, saying they have an “excellent” relationship and “will continue working together on many issues.”
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