On Thursday, President Trump announced that he’d instructed the United States Trade Representative to consider $100 billion in additional tariffs against China. “In light of China’s unfair retaliation, I have instructed the USTR to consider whether $100 billion of additional tariffs would be appropriate under section 301 and, if so, to identify the products upon which to impose such tariffs,” Trump said in a statement.
The tariffs would be on “robotics, information technology, communication technology and aerospace,” all of which are sectors Trump says unfairly benefit from the help of U.S. intellectual property.
That came after China on Wednesday announced they would introduce tariffs on 106 U.S. products, including soybeans, cars, and whiskey. The tariffs totaled $100 billion, hence the $100 billion in retaliatory tariffs Trump threatened.
But with Trump’s threats to escalate further, China was the first to blink.
According to The Telegraph:
President Xi Jinping has promised to cut Chinese tariffs on car imports and and ease restrictions on foreign ownership in its car industry amid an escalating tariff spat with Washington.
In a speech on Tuesday at a business conference, Mr Xi made no direct mention of the dispute with President Donald Trump but pledged to open China’s markets further and improve conditions for foreign companies.
Mr Xi said Beijing will “significantly lower” tariffs on car imports this year and ease restrictions on foreign ownership in the car industry “as soon as possible”.
He also promised to expand protection of intellectual property – an issue high on the list of US demands.
On Sunday, Trump had tweeted “China will take down its trade barriers because it is the right thing to do. Taxes will become reciprocal and a deal will be made on intellectual property.” He also criticized the current system of tariffs as a “STUPID TRADE.”
When a car is sent to the United States from China, there is a Tariff to be paid of 2 1/2%. When a car is sent to China from the United States, there is a Tariff to be paid of 25%. Does that sound like free or fair trade. No, it sounds like STUPID TRADE – going on for years!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 9, 2018
CNN: Dow soars 400 points on hopes of easing trade tensions with China. Market rally follows speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping. Nasdaq climbs 1.5%. Volkswagen stock jumps 5% after saying it could replace CEO. https://t.co/mQroL1PHdz
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) April 10, 2018
It’s not yet clear what percentage of the $100 billion in tariffs China had initially imposed they plan on removing. China also filed a complaint against the U.S. for Trump’s steel tariffs, after agreeing to ease their own tariffs.
FOX NEWS ALERT: China files trade complaint against U.S. over steel and aluminum tariffs pic.twitter.com/7FxKCFkCQq
— FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) April 10, 2018
Think they’ll have much luck with that? Let us know what you think in the comments section below!
