August 2, 2018

Update: US confirms plans of raising China tariffs to 25%
 

President Donald Trump has urged US Trade Representative (USTR), Robert Lighthizer to consider increasing tariffs from 10% to 25% on a list of Chinese goods worth US$200 billion, his administration announced on Wednesday.

According to Lighthizer, Trump has directed the tariff escalation in light of China's refusal on meeting US demands and the retaliatory tariffs imposed on US goods last month, which includes beef, seafood and dairy products, amounting to US$34 billion.

"The increase in the possible rate of the additional duty is intended to provide the administration with additional options to encourage China to change its harmful policies and behaviour, and to adopt policies that will lead to fairer markets and prosperity for all our citizens," Lighthizer said in a statement.

Trump has been focusing on his growing concern over China's ignorance to make fundamental changes to its unfair trade practices and policies.

"We have been very clear about the specific changes China should undertake. Regrettably, instead of changing its harmful behaviour, China has illegally retaliated against US workers, farmers, ranchers and businesses," Lighthizer explained.

However, two of Trump's administration officials also revealed in a conference call with reporters that Trump has instructed his team to remain open to further discussions with Beijing and the two countries are in talks for a "fruitful negotiation" through informal conversations.

As pressures surrounding the trade scuffle between China and US remain high, very little progress has been made through the on-going private negotiations.

"We are in contact with our Chinese counterparts. We have been throughout this process," the official said and added that there was nothing concrete or specific to announce at this point. "We are trying to figure out whether the conditions present themselves for a specific engagement between the two sides."

"It is clear that if those discussions are going to be fruitful, China is going to have to come to the table and really be willing to address the legitimate concerns that we have consistently raised," stated one of the officials.

At China's end, the country has vowed to retaliate against any US move to increase the pressure. During a news conference earlier this week, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Geng Shuang remarked, "If the US government takes any further actions to escalate, we will inevitably fight back."

"From the beginning, China has said that we should deal with the trade conflict through dialogue, but we want to emphasise that dialogue must be based on mutual respect, and unilateral intimidation will have the opposite effect," Geng said.