World
US-China Trade War: Donald Trump Says He Will Proceed With Set Tariff Plans
Trump says it is highly unlikely that he would delay an increase in tariffs from 10% to 25% on $200 billion in Chinese imports
The United States President Donald Trump will soon have a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the upcoming G20 summit in Buenos Aires this week. The meeting will be the first among the two world leaders since the US-China trade war came into being. The trade war has already impacted the US economy, the Chinese economy as well as the global economy.
While trade experts want Trump-Xinping’s meeting to end on a positive note may be with a possible trade deal between the two countries, the US President has hinted that he is not going to stop.
During a recent interview with The Washington Post, Trump said he expects to move forward with his plans to impose an additional 10 percent tariff on iPhones and laptops imported from China, which are part of that $267 billion list of goods not yet hit by tariffs.
Referring to the possibility of tariffs on mobile phones and laptops, Trump said, “I mean, I can make it 10 percent, and people could stand that very easily.”
Trump added that it is highly unlikely that he would delay an increase in tariffs from 10 percent to 25 percent on $200 billion in Chinese imports in the absence of a trade deal, which is due to take effect on Jan. 1.
He went on to suggest that if negotiations don’t result in a favorable outcome for the US, he would put tariffs on the rest of Chinese imports that are currently not subject to tariffs.
“If we don’t make a deal, then I’m going to put the $267 billion additional on,” at a tariff rate of either 10 percent or 25 percent, Trump said. “The only deal would be China has to open up their country to competition from the United States. As far as other countries are concerned, that’s up to them.”
