Politico | US President Donald Trump could hit China with trade tariffs as early as Friday, sources say
Washington’s aggressive stance calls into question the future of talks between the world’s two biggest economies
This story is being published by the South China Morning Post as part of a content partnership with POLITICO. It was reported by Adam Behsudi and originally appeared on politico.com on June 12, 2018.
President Donald Trump is expected to impose tariffs on Chinese goods as soon as Friday or next week, according to two sources briefed on internal deliberations, a move that is sure to further inflame tensions and spark almost immediate retaliation from Beijing.
The administration on Friday is planning to publish a final list of Chinese goods that will take the hit.
The aggressive stance calls into question the future of talks between the two trade powers, which took a friendly turn in the weeks leading up to the North Korea summit as the U.S. sought China’s help. China was seen as playing a key role in getting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to the table with Trump, who has consistently linked his trade demands to Beijing’s willingness to help on North Korea.
After the summit, Trump defended his personal friendship with Chinese President Xi Jinping and said he would call the Chinese leader, maybe on his way back to Washington. But he also said Beijing has not done an adequate job closing its border to trade with North Korea in recent months, which Trump seemed to blame for rising U.S.-China trade tensions.
“Which is a shame. But I have to do it. I have no choice. For our country, I have to do it,” Trump said at a press conference in Singapore, possibly referring to tariffs.