23 March 2018 - Trump Hits China with Tariffs
Trump hits China with tariffs, heightening concerns of global trade war
Jeremy Diamond (CNN, 23/03/2018)
President Donald Trump launched the next salvo in his widening war on Chinese trade abuses, this time taking aim at China's unfair seizure of US intellectual property.
Trump on Thursday directed the US trade representative to level tariffs on about $50 billion worth of Chinese imports following a seven-month investigation into the intellectual property theft, which has been a longstanding point of contention in US-China trade relations. In addition to the tariffs, the US also plans to impose new investment restrictions, take action against China at the World Trade Organization and the Treasury Department also will propose additional measures.
Trump signaled the tariffs would affect "about $60 billion" of Chinese imports, but administration officials said the figure would be closer to $50 billion.
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Donald Trump launches attack on Chinese trade
(The Economist, 22/03/2018)
Now for the real fight. After unveiling tariffs on steel and aluminium which barely grazed China earlier this month, President Donald Trump took direct aim at Beijing on March 22nd. His move to hit China for its trade practices is designed to land three jabs. The first will take the form of tariffs of 25% on up to $60bn of Chinese exports to America. This, Mr Trump argues, is only a fraction of the economic damage China has done to America by stealing or forcibly extracting its companies’ intellectual property. The second blow will come in the form of investment restrictions on Chinese companies, to stop the Chinese from hoovering up American ideas and gaining a strategic advantage. The third will involve litigation at the World Trade Organisation.
China has broken the rules, the president thinks, and needs to be held to account. Plenty agree on that. China has not lived up to the expectations many had of it when it joined the World Trade Organisation back in 2001 (see briefing). Its challenge to American technological supremacy is real enough (see briefing). The metal tariffs have been handled chaotically and were controversial even within the administration; the desire to curb China’s bad behaviour commands much more consensus.
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China promises to hit US with tariffs as stocks plunge amid fear of trade war
Martin Farrer and Benjamin Haas (The Guardian, 23/03/2018)
China has retaliated against Donald Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on steel and aluminium by signalling that it will hit US goods such as pork, apples and steel pipe with higher duties.
As Asian stock markets plunged at the prospect of a trade war between the world’s two biggest economies, China’s commerce ministry urged Washington to negotiate a settlement as soon as possible but set no deadline.
A ministry statement on Friday said the higher US tariffs “seriously undermine” the global trading system.
Trump tariffs on China could make your next phone or laptop cost more
Mike Snider (USA Today, 22/03/2018)
The next smartphone, tablet or laptop you buy could cost more because of President Trump's planned tariffs on goods imported from China.
Apple's iPhones and other smartphones, computers, washing machines and other goods could all have higher price tags.
And that, in turn, could lead to lower productivity and U.S. growth, which could also hit consumers' pocketbooks, experts say.