The offices of U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer said the tariff list is meant to affect “products that currently are imported or could be imported in the future.”
In a statement announcing the finalized tariff list, the Office of the United States Trade Representative said that “China has been unwilling to change its policies involving the unfair acquisition of U.S. technology and intellectual property” and has instead responded “by taking further steps to harm U.S. workers and businesses.”
“For a long period of time China has taken advantage of our country,” Trump said in a recent video posted to his Twitter account, saying that “$375 billion in trade deficits came about, year after year. We don’t want that. Not fair, not right. So we placed massive tariffs on China. And the tariffs have really had a positive impact. Number one our country is taking in a lot of money. Number two, we’re creating jobs like never before…We’re changing things, and we’re changing them fast.”
China on Monday began imposing new duties on its latest batch of $60 billion in tariffs on U.S. imports. The Wall Street Journal reported that China has backed out of a meeting to discuss the possibility of a new round of trade talks between the two countries.
In a statement, China accused the United States of “trade bullyism” and said the U.S. was pursuing an “America First” agenda.
Since the new administration took office, “it has brazenly preached unilateralism, protectionism and economic hegemony, making false accusations against many countries and regions, particularly China, intimidating other countries through economic measures such as imposing tariffs, and attempting to impose its own interests on China through extreme pressure,” the statement read.