Trump Slaps Tariffs On $200BN In China Imports; Will Add Another $267BN If China Retaliates
by Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge.com
Mon, 09/17/2018
With traders waiting with bated breath for hours, moments ago the White House announced that it has imposed tariffs on approximately $200 billion worth of imports from China, effective September 24.
The tariffs will start at 10% until the end of the year, but in an unexpected twist, are set to rise to 25% on January 1, 2019, in what is worse case scenario than what the market had been pricing in, namely a 10% rate indefinitely.
Trump also warns that if China takes any retaliatory action “against US farmers or other industries”, the US will immediately pursue “phase three”, and impose an additional $267 billion in tariffs on Chinese imports.
The statement notes that while the US has given China “every opportunity to treat us more fairly”, so far China “has been unwilling to change its practices.”
Trump concludes by saying that it is his duty “to protect the interests of working men and women, farmers, ranchers, businesses, and our country itself. My Administration will not remain idle when those interests are under attack. China has had many opportunities to fully address our concerns. Once again, I urge China’s leaders to take swift action to end their country’s unfair trade practices.”
Separately, the USTR announced that it has removed about 300 product categories from the tariff list and has cut some subsets of products, but the total value remains “approximately $200 billion”, and – as we showed earlier – a substantial portion of the imports targeted this time are consumer goods, which means that the pain to the US household bottom line is about to get real.
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