The US Response to China's Tariff Move? Go Bigger

US Trade Representative's Office targets $300B of goods from China that could be hit
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted May 14, 2019 6:28 AM CDT
Updated May 14, 2019 6:39 AM CDT
The US Response to China's Tariff Move? Go Bigger
In this Jan 8, 2009, file photo, a vendor waits for customers at a computer shop selling Lenovo laptops in Beijing, China. US trade officials have issued a $300 billion target list of Chinese imports including laptop computers for more tariff hikes, ratcheting up tensions with Beijing.   (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

Retaliation is coming fast and furious: After China on Monday announced tariff hikes on $60 billion of American goods, US officials put out a list of $300 billion of Chinese goods that could be subject to a tariff hike—on top of the $200 billion of imports that will see their tariffs hiked from 10% to 25%, reports the AP. On the list: Essentially everything not already covered by those punitive tariffs announced by President Trump last week, with the exception of pharmaceuticals and rare earth minerals, says the US Trade Representative's Office. More specifically, it contains 3,805 product categories including laptops, turbine parts, tuna, milk, steel, and garlic.

Here's the current timeline: The round of US tariffs announced last week impacts goods that leave China beginning Friday; they won't reach US ports for roughly three weeks. China's retaliatory tariffs hit June 1. A hearing on the possible new tariff hikes is scheduled for June 17 and a public comment period ends a week later; the White House can't make a decision before those things occur, reports the Wall Street Journal. Trump said Monday he will meet with President Xi Jingping during the G20 leaders summit, which runs June 28 and 29. And according to the senior administration officials Axios spoke with, resolution may not come for quite some time after that. One framed the gulf between the two sides as so great that, "based on his read of the situation, he can't see the fight getting resolved before the end of the year." (More China stories.)

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