Trump Threatens China

China talks are slated to resume in Washington this week
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted May 5, 2019 5:30 PM CDT
Trump Threatens China
Children wave US and Chinese flags as President Donald Trump arrives at Beijing Airport, Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2017, in Beijing, China.   (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

President Trump turned up the pressure on China on Sunday, threatening to hike tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, the AP reports. Trump's comments, delivered on Twitter, came as a Chinese delegation was scheduled to resume talks in Washington on Wednesday aimed at resolving a trade war that has shaken financial markets and cast gloom over the world economy. Trump turned up the heat by saying he would raise import taxes on $200 billion in Chinese products to 25% from 10% on Friday. He'd twice pushed back deadlines—in January and March—to raise the tariffs in a bid to buy more time for a negotiated settlement.

But on Sunday, Trump, who has called himself a "tariff man," said he's losing patience. "The Trade Deal with China continues, but too slowly, as they attempt to renegotiate. No!" Trump tweeted. In his tweets, Trump also threatened to slap tariffs on another $325 billion in Chinese imports, covering everything China ships annually to the US. The two countries are locked in a high-stakes dispute over China's push to establish itself as a technological super power. The US charges that China is resorting to predatory tactics—including cybertheft and forcing foreign companies to hand over technology—in a drive to establish Chinese companies as world leaders in advanced industries such as robotics and electric vehicles. The administration has repeatedly suggested that the negotiators are making progress.

(More trade war stories.)

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