President Donald Trump tweeted on Friday that his administration will boost tariffs on $550 billion in Chinese imports in retaliation for China's decision on Friday to hike trade levies on $75 billion of U.S. products. The move deepens a trade war that many fear could tip the U.S. and global economies into recession.
The president said U.S. tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese imports will increase from 25% to 30% on October 1. An additional $300 billion in Chinese goods will be taxed at 15%, instead of 10%, starting on September 1. The stepped up tariffs means the U.S. has hiked taxes on virtually all goods imported from China.
"China should not have put new Tariffs on 75 BILLION DOLLARS of United States product (politically motivated!)," Mr. Trump tweeted on Friday afternoon.
The U.S. Trade Representative said in astatementthat the tariffs on $300 billion will take effect at the higher rate in two phases as previous scheduled — one on September 1 and one on December 15.
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