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US to hike existing, planned tariffs on Chinese imports: Trump

In this file photo taken on June 18, 2019 container trucks arrive at the Port of Los Angeles on June 18, 2019 in San Pedro, California. (AFP photo)

US President Donald Trump has hit back at China, raising existing and planned tariffs in retaliation for Beijing's new duties on American goods.

The United States will raise existing tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese imports to 30% from 25%, beginning on Oct. 1, Trump said on Twitter Friday.

He added that the duties on another $300 billion in Chinese products, set to take effect on Sept. 1, will be increased by 5 percent, reaching 15%.

This came hours after China said it would hit US imports worth $75 billion with new tariffs starting September 1 and December 15, as retaliation for Washington's planned tariff hikes in a bruising trade war.

The punitive tariffs would range from 5 percent to 10 percent on 5,078 items from the US, China's state council tariff office announced on Friday.

Trump also criticized the past US administrations for what he said allowing “China to get so far ahead of Fair and Balanced Trade that it has become a great burden to the American Taxpayer.” He said that he would stop this from happening.

Earlier in the day, Trump said he had "ordered" US companies to change their production strategies.

"Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China, including bringing your companies HOME and making your products in the USA,” he tweeted.

Trump initiated what is effectively a trade war with China last year, when he first imposed unusually heavy tariffs on imports from the country. Since then, the two sides have exchanged tariffs on more than 360 billion dollars in two-way trade.

Beijing, accusing Washington of practicing “naked economic terrorism” against the country, has opposed the US tariff hikes, saying they are harmful not only to China and the US, but to the whole world.

Beijing and Washington have held several rounds of talks to settle the issue, but to no avail so far.

US and Chinese negotiators met in Shanghai last month for the first time since bilateral talks on trade collapsed in May, and were due to hold another round next month.


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