WASHINGTON: The President of the United States, Donald Trump, announced his intention to impose a 10% tariff on Chinese imports in the amount of $ 300 billion as of September 1 and could increase tariffs if Chinese President Xi Jinping was not acting faster to conclude a trade agreement.

Trump hits China with more tariffs, says Xi moving too slow on trade
Thursday's announcement extends Trump's trade tariffs to almost all Chinese imports to the United States and marks the abrupt end of a temporary truce in a trade war that has disrupted global supply chains and shattered financial markets.

"I think President Xi ... wants to come to an agreement, but frankly, he is not going fast enough," Trump said.

Trump made the announcement in a series of Twitter posts after his main trade negotiators informed him about the lack of progress in the US-China talks in Shanghai this week.

Trump later said that if business talks fail, it could raise tariffs, even beyond the 25% tax that has already imposed on imports of $ 250 billion from China. .

The news has strongly affected the US financial markets. UU.

Oil prices fell 7%, with Brent registering the largest percentage decline since February 2016. The S&P 500 benchmark, which was in clear positive territory on Thursday afternoon, closed down. 0.9% The US Treasury reference yields have also fallen.

Retail associations have forecast an increase in consumer prices. Target Corp fell 4.2%, Macy's Inc. 6% and Nordstrom Inc. 6.2%. When asked about the impact on financial markets, Trump told reporters: "That doesn't worry me at all."

Moody's said the new tariffs would weigh on the global economy at a time when growth is already slowing in the United States, China and the euro zone.

Tariffs could also force the Federal Reserve to reduce interest rates again to protect the US economy from the risks of trade policy, experts said.

Raising tariffs would reduce the chances of reaching an agreement instead of speeding it up, China's Global Times reported. Beijing will focus more on its efforts to survive a prolonged trade war, said Hu Xijin, editor of the newspaper backed by the Communist Party, on Twitter.

"The new rates will by no means bring an agreement that the United States wants closer to each other, it will only make it even more remote," Hu said.



FRUSTRATED

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin inform Trump about his first face-to-face meeting with Chinese officials since he met with Xi at the G20 summit at the end of June and agreed to a Stop the fire in the commercial war.

"When my people came home, they said: 'We are talking, we have another meeting in early September.' I said, 'Well, but until there is an agreement, we will apply taxes,' Trump told reporters.

A source close to the case said Trump was frustrated and composed the tweets shortly after Lighthizer and Mnuchin told him that China had made no significant move in his position.

Previous negotiations failed in May, when US officials accused China of deviating from previous commitments.

US business groups in China have expressed concern about the latest US tariff cycle. The Business Council between the United States and China said Friday it feared the move "would take the Chinese off the negotiating table, reducing hopes for a second round of talks that ended this week in Shanghai."

"We are particularly concerned about the increase in regulatory oversight, delays in licenses and approvals, and discrimination against US companies in public procurement," the president of the State Trade Council said in an email. UNITED-CHINA.

Ker Gibbs, president of the United States Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, urged both sides to keep talking.

Gibbs said that since access to the Chinese market "is unnecessarily restricted," the United States should continue its dialogue with Beijing and "work with like-minded countries to persuade China to trade and Equitable and reciprocal investments benefit everyone."

CULTURES AND DRUGS

Trump said Beijing did not stop the sale of synthetic fentanyl opioids in the United States, as promised. He also said that Beijing had not fulfilled its commitment to goodwill to buy more American agricultural products.

Trump did not make a gesture of goodwill that he said he would do after the G20 meeting to ease sales restrictions to Chinese telecom giant Huawei.

Trump had pressured Xi to take strong action against a flood of fentanyl and substances similar to China's fentanyl, which according to US officials is the main source of a drug that causes the majority of 28,000 deaths per year. synthetic opioid overdose in the United States in 2017

China pledged as of May 1 to expand the list of state-controlled narcotics to include more than 1,400 known fentanyl analogues, which have a slightly different chemical composition but are addictive and are potentially fatal, as well as new products developed in this country. the future.

The US Department of Agriculture on Thursday confirmed a small private sale of 68,000 tons of soybeans to China during the week ending July 25.

It was the first sale to a private buyer since Beijing offered to exempt five crushers from the 25% import tariff imposed more than a year ago. Soy futures opened down Thursday when traders canceled the purchase due to the low volume at stake, losses accelerated after Trump's tweets.

Also read: New British Prime Minister Boris Johnson maintains close ties with India

IMPACT ON RETAIL SALE

The new rates will raise prices for consumers at the beginning of the school shopping season, four major retail associations announced Thursday.

"President Trump actually uses American families as hostages in his trade war negotiations," said Matt Priest, president of US footwear distributors and retailers.

Stephen Lamar, executive vice president of the American Apparel & Footwear Association, said his group was surprised that Trump had not allowed the continuation of trade talks between the United States and China to continue before taking action.

The measure will affect American consumers much more than Chinese manufacturers, which produce 42% of clothing and 69% of shoes bought in the United States, Lamar said.


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