Trump looking to levy tariffs on over 100 Chinese products

川普希望對100多種中國產品徵收關稅

Trump administration weighing tariffs on more than 100 Chinese products worth over US$30 billion


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- The Trump administration is looking at levying tariffs on over 100 Chinese products and the president is asking to pump up planned tariffs of US$30 billion on Chinese imported goods, according to a Politico report.

On the heels of Trump's announcement of tariffs on steel and aluminum, he is considering a raft of new tariffs on China after reports have come in of the extent of Beijing's intellectual property theft from American companies. As a retaliatory measure, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer had provided Trump with a plan to impose US$30 billion worth of tariffs on Chinese imports, however, according to Politico he has asked Lighthizer to think bigger and come up with a higher figure and wants his staff to be ready to make an official announcement as soon as next week.

Though the details are still being hashed out, Trump is weighing the possibility of imposing tariffs on more than 100 Chinese-made products. In addition to the tariffs, Trump is also looking into the feasibility of imposing restrictions on Chinese investment and visas for Chinese citizens, as well as limiting exports of goods or technologies that have dual civilian and military uses.

The original US$30 billion figure was based on an estimation from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative of market value of technology U.S. technology companies are forced to fork over to the Chinese government every year.

The Trump administration is gearing the broad spectrum of tariffs and other punitive measures at countering Beijing's Made in China 2025 industrial policy, which is designed to accelerate the funneling of Western technology into China's state-run corporations.

As can clearly be seen in the chart below, Chinese exports to the U.S. increased dramatically after it entered the World Trade Organization (WTO), while American exports to China increased as well, but much more modestly, resulting in the U.S. suffering an ever-increasing trade deficit with the communist country.


(Wikimedia Commons image)