This week, the Trump administration announced a new policy that could majorly affect international trade between the U.S. and China.
The U.S. government plans to impose a $60 billion tariff on goods imported from China, in an effort to protect U.S. companies’ rights in China.
President Donald Trump has declared on many occasions that China is responsible for U.S. companies losing 600 factories and 6 million jobs, due to Chinese competition and automation. He has also stated that due to China’s unfair trade practices, the U.S. now has a more-than $375 billion trade deficit with China during the Trump Presidency alone. Trump has said “it is out of control” and “We’re doing things for this country that should have been done for many, many years.”
The U.S. is prepared to impose a new tariff on goods in the technology industry and on materials like steel and aluminum, starting this Friday.
However, the entire process may take a while, as the U.S. government is still working on exactly which goods the new tariff will be imposed on. According to the White House, their plan puts a 25% tariff on a selected 1300 product categories and have a $60 billion impact on U.S. imports.
On the other hand, China has announced that they plan to retaliate agains the U.S. with a new tariff program on U.S. imported goods in response to the new U.S. tariff policy.
A government expert from the Commerce Ministry blamed the U.S. for “setting a vile precedent” and said that “China will defend itself until the end” at an announcement in Beijing.
China’s new plan includes imposing a tariff on U.S. imported goods, such as pork, fruits, and recycled aluminum, which is said to have a $3 billion effect on imports. However, experts believe that the Chinese government has not added key goods, such as soybeans and sorghum, to the list because they want to have some room for negotiation during further talks with the U.S. government.
We do not know what will happen next in the potential trade war between the U.S. and China.
However, developments will definitely take a while and will have a great effect on the import and export business. We are definitely looking forward to watching the second round of this fight.