Dive Brief:
- Donald Trump told reporters on Air Force One Friday he's ready to impose tariffs on an additional $267 billion in imports from China, on top of an already announced but not yet implemented $200 billion and an already implemented $50 billion. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) as of press time has not released a list of what goods could be affected.
- Trump's announcement came the day after the public comment period closed on tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese imports. He said those tariffs "could take place very soon," Reuters reported.
- On Thursday, a coalition of 150 organizations representing retailers, manufacturers, ports and other industries wrote a letter to USTR Robert Lighthizer urging him to stop further escalation of the U.S.-China trade war.
Dive Insight:
Global businesses were on the edge of their seats Friday morning, as the comment period closed Thursday on duties on $200 billion worth of imports to the U.S. from China.
Many anticipated the Trump administration would announce the tariffs going into effect Friday morning, although no announcement came from USTR or the Trump administration. White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said the administration would not make any decisions until officials had evaluated nearly 6,000 comments received.
That may be welcome news for companies and organizations that submitted comments or asked for exemptions. But the potential of new tariffs on an additional $267 billion worth of Chinese imports could be less welcome.
If the administration follows through with this latest round, tariffs would apply to a total of $517 billion of imports from China. Last year, the U.S. imported $505 billion in goods from China.
In other words, nearly every product arriving on U.S. soil from China would face duties.
China has responded to the tariffs on $200 billion by saying it will retaliate with tariffs on $60 billion. Due to a wide trade imbalance between the two nations, it cannot fully retaliate with tariffs on $200 billion of U.S. imports. China has not yet responded to this latest announced round of tariffs.
