US to raise tariffs on Chinese goods on Friday, Robert Lighthizer says, accusing Beijing of back-pedalling on trade commitments
- US negotiators recommending increasing tariffs to 25 per cent if agreement not reached by Friday
- Delegation from China will be in Washington from Thursday to continue talks; Vice-Premier Liu He expected to attend
Washington’s chief negotiator on Monday accused Beijing’s trade negotiators of “reneging” on a number of commitments during recently concluded discussions in Beijing, and confirmed that the US will increase tariffs on billions of dollars of Chinese imports this week.
Speaking a day after US President Donald Trump announced the surprise move to increase import duties, which had been frozen as part of a truce brokered by both sides in December, US Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer said that the US was not breaking off talks with China, and that negotiations planned for this week in Washington would go ahead.
Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He, who has been leading the negotiations on the Chinese side, was still expected to be part of the delegation that will arrive in Washington on Thursday for talks, Lighthizer told reporters in a briefing.
“Over the course of the last week or so we have seen … an erosion in commitments by China,” said Lighthizer. “That in our view is unacceptable.”
US negotiators travelled to Beijing last week for talks that were billed by some observers including the US Chamber of Commerce as an “endgame”, meaning they were close to a deal that would end their 10-month trade war.
Those hopes were effectively dashed on Sunday when Trump issued his threat via Twitter to raise tariffs on US$200 billion worth of goods from 10 to 25 per cent.