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US Announces Additional Tariffs on $200 Bln in Chinese Goods

The Trump administration revealed on Tuesday that it would be imposing 10 percent tariffs on some $200 billion in Chinese goods, an add-on to the US government's previous tariffs that went into effect this past Friday.
Sputnik

US Trade Rep Releases Guidelines For Obtaining Exemption from Anti-China Tariffs
Before the new set of tariffs go into effect, they will have to go through a two-month review process to allow the American public to offer their comments on the matter, according to Reuters. The affected products are from Made in China 2025 sectors, a policy backed by the Chinese state that pushes for China to become a global industrial leader.

"As a result of China's retaliation and failure to change its practices, the President has ordered USTR to begin the process of imposing tariffs of 10 percent on an additional $200 billion of Chinese imports. This is an appropriate response … to obtain the elimination of China's harmful industrial policies," Robert Lighthizer, the US Trade Representative, said in a news release Tuesday.

The latest action was derided by US Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), who is chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, as "reckless."

In response to the announcement, the Retail Industry Leaders Association released a statement suggesting that the move will "punish" American families. It added that US President Donald Trump had broken his promise to the industry "to bring 'maximum pain on China, minimum pain on consumers.'"

"The Trump Administration lacks the savvy and skill to impose tariffs in such a way that doesn't simply harm every single strategic trading partner from the European Union to China," Daniel Sankey, a financial policy analyst, told Sputnik prior to the late Tuesday revelation. "This demonstrates the lack of skilled economists and diplomats in this US administration."

Tariffs that previously went into effect on Friday were placed on goods that included auto parts, soybeans and lobsters. The administration is also expected to impose new tariffs on another couple hundred billion dollars in goods, POTUS told reporters last week.

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