WASHINGTON _ President Trump announced in a tweet Thursday that the U.S. is putting a 10% tariff on an additional $300 billion worth of Chinese goods starting Sept. 1, another indication that a resolution to the ongoing trade war between the two countries is anything but imminent.
"Trade talks are continuing, and during the talks the U.S. will start, on September 1st, putting a small additional Tariff of 10% on the remaining 300 Billion Dollars of goods and products coming from China into our Country. ... We look forward to continuing our positive dialogue with China on a comprehensive Trade Deal, and feel that the future between our two countries will be a very bright one!" Trump tweeted on Thursday.
In the minutes after the president's tweets, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 300 points.
The trade war with China has been going for a year and a half. In May, Trump hiked tariffs from 10% to 25% on $250 billion in Chinese goods.
The U.S. and China resumed talks in Shanghai this week, the first in-person discussions since Trump and Xi agreed to reopen negotiations after a lull of several months. According to a White House statement issued Wednesday, the conversations were "constructive" and China reportedly has renewed its vow to increase purchases of U.S. agricultural exports.
Trump, who has so far sent four tweets Thursday on the subject of China, accused President Xi Jinping of not following through on agreements to purchase agricultural products from the U.S. and to end the sale of fentanyl to the U.S.
"This never happened and more Americans continue to die!" Trump tweeted.
In other public comments in recent days, Trump has suggested that China is reluctant to make a deal before the 2020 election in the hope that he may lose and that a Democratic president would give the country more beneficial terms as part of a trade agreement.
