Trade Conflict: US wants to impose punitive tariffs on additional goods from China

US President Donald Trump has already threatened the Chinese government with new punitive tariffs, and now he is letting the acts follow. The United States has proposed a new list of Chinese goods with a value of 200 billions of dollars for possible punitive tariffs around 170 billion euros. Imports would be subject to additional taxes of 10%, said Tuesday the US Trade Representative, Robert Lighthizer.

Sanctions could come into effect in September, said a US government official. The Lighthizer office therefore wants to discuss the products concerned. It will take about two months to complete the list. Then, Trump will decide whether to impose the tariffs or not.

The proposed new US tariffs would affect not only food but also chemicals, textiles, metals, electronics and other products from China (see full list of 196 pages) right here). Lighthizer said the reason for these new possible tariffs was Chinese retaliation and the Beijing government's refusal to change line of action.

It was only last Friday that the United States imposed punitive duties of 25% on goods from China. $ 34 billion has been introduced. The tariffs cover 818 products, including cars, aircraft parts and hard drives. Trump justifies his punitive tariff policy by the huge trade deficit of his country vis-à-vis China.

China announced "necessary countermeasures" soon after the tariff came into effect last Friday. The United States has launched "the biggest trade war of economic history," said the spokesman of the Ministry of Commerce in Beijing. Trump, in turn, threatened the Chinese authorities to impose trade restrictions on Chinese products up to $ 200 billion in retaliation.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce has formally brought a lawsuit against the WTO. , China follows the example of the EU and Canada

The current punitive US tariffs are aimed primarily at technological products because they accuse China to steal intellectual property and impose technology transfer. In retaliation, China levies additional taxes on US agricultural products such as soy, fish, pork, beef and dairy products. It is aimed at the electorate of Trump in rural areas.

China's ambassador to the European Union, Zhang Ming, recently pleaded for a policy of harshness in the trade dispute with the United States. "We must demonstrate resolutely at the root of the trade war that his actions are bad," he said, cautioning against the dramatic consequences of a trade war for the global economy . "Nobody will benefit from this trade conflict, everyone will lose, China, the EU and also the cause of the conflict."

million. Trump went on Tuesday to Brussels, where he wants to attend the NATO summit on Wednesday. Before the summit meeting, he again criticized the EU. "The European Union makes it impossible for our farmers, our workers and our companies to do business in Europe," he wrote on Twitter. He pointed to the US trade deficit with the EU, which would be $ 151 billion. "And then they want us to happily defend them across NATO and we pay nicely for that – it does not work!"