US President Donald Trump has approved a plan to impose punishing tariffs on tens of billions of dollars of Chinese goods as early as Friday, prompting a pledge by China to “immediately” retaliate.
Trump has long vowed to fulfill his campaign pledge to clamp down on what he considers unfair Chinese trading practices.
Trump met Thursday with several Cabinet members and trade advisers and was expected to impose tariffs on at least $35 billion to $40 billion of Chinese imports, according to an industry official and an administration official familiar with the plans. The amount of goods could reach $55 billion, said the industry official.
But Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said: "If the US side adopts unilateral protectionist measures and damages China's interests, we will immediately react and take necessary measures to firmly safeguard our legitimate rights and interests.”
Trump has already slapped tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada, Mexico and European allies, and his proposed tariffs against China risk starting a trade war involving the world's two biggest economies.
His call for billions in tariffs could also complicate his efforts to maintain China's support in his negotiations with North Korea.
The president has coordinated closely with China on efforts to get Pyongyang to eliminate its nuclear arsenal. But he signaled that whatever the implications, "I have to do what I have to do" to address the trade imbalance.
In his press conference in Singapore following his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Tuesday, Trump said the US has a "tremendous deficit in trade with China and we have to do something about it. We can't continue to let that happen."
The US trade deficit with China was $336 billion in 2017.
