Trump hiking U.S. tariffs on $550 billion in Chinese imports

August 23, 2019

President Donald Trump tweeted on Friday that his administration will boost tariffs on $550 billion in Chinese imports in retaliation for China’s decision on Friday to hike trade levies on $75 billion of U.S. products. The move deepens a trade war that many fear could tip the U.S. and global economies into recession.

The president said U.S. tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese imports will increase from 25% to 30% on October 1. An additional $300 billion in Chinese goods will be taxed at 15%, instead of 10%, starting on September 1 instead of 10%.

“China should not have put new Tariffs on 75 BILLION DOLLARS of United States product (politically motivated!),” Mr. Trump tweeted on Friday afternoon.

For many years China (and many other countries) has been taking advantage of the United States on Trade, Intellectual Property Theft, and much more. Our Country has been losing HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS a year to China, with no end in sight….

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 23, 2019

The tariff hikes come after the president earlier on Friday had signaled he planned to respond to China’s own trade escalation. “I will be responding to China’s Tariffs this afternoon,” he wrote on Twitter. “This is a GREAT opportunity for the United States.”

Mr. Trump also said he was “ordering” U.S. businesses to “immediately start looking for an alternative to China,” including bringing their manufacturing back to the U.S. However, it wasn’t clear how he planned to force companies to do so, given that many rely on China for manufacturing that’s far more economical than is possible in the U.S.