President Donald Trump is readying a fresh round of tariffs on Chinese goods ahead of scheduled trade talks with Beijing, a senior administration official familiar with the matter told CNBC on Sunday, which is expected to affect $200 billion worth of goods and could come as early as this week.
The official effectively confirmed a Saturday report by The Wall Street Journal, which dovetailed with similar reporting on Friday from Bloomberg saying the president directed his aides to proceed with plans to hit China’s imports again. While both sides are preparing to meet in order to dial back on trade tensions, Trump’s latest actions may imperil those discussions, and may bring fresh retaliation from Beijing, The WSJ reported on Sunday.
The new tariffs will be set at 10 percent, sources familiar with the matter told The Journal, below an original figure of 25 percent floated by the administration earlier. The president is also expected to threaten to hike tariffs again to squeeze Beijing at the negotiating table, but the Chinese have shown no public signs of bending.
The lower figure has a dual purpose: Diminishing the impact on U.S. consumers ahead of the holiday shopping season, while helping Republicans on the campaign trail ahead of the midterm elections. While voters give Trump high praise on the economy, numerous polls show the Democrats with a wide advantage, and show a public restive about the president’s trade wars.
In the last several weeks, Trump has repeatedly signaled he could pull the trigger on new tariffs — which could impact a wide range of consumer goods — whenever he deemed the timing appropriate.
This week, the president met with trade advisors, including Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, according to reports.
Mnuchin had been spearheading attempts to restart trade talks with China, which The Journal on Sunday reported were in doubt, as the Chinese threatened to decline participation, balking at Trump’s demands. Beijing may also restrict sales of goods into the U.S., the report said.
Trump, meanwhile, has indicated he has no intention of backing down. On Thursday he tweeted “we are under no pressure to make a deal with China, they are under pressure to make a deal with us.”
In a statement provided to CNBC on Friday, the White House said, “The President has been clear that he and his administration will continue to take action to address China’s unfair trade practices. We encourage China to address the long standing concerns raised by the United States.”
–CNBC urang
Eamon Javers
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