As you may have heard, Trump is imposing new tariffs on Chinese goods – a lot of them – but he’s giving Congress a chance to whittle down the list of goods before the tariffs go into effect:
REUTERS – U.S. President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum on Thursday that could impose tariffs on up to $60 billion of imports from China, although his action was far removed from threats that could have ignited a global trade war.
Under the terms of the memorandum, Trump will target the Chinese imports only after a consultation period, a measure that will give industry lobbyists and legislators a chance to water down a proposed target list which runs to 1,300 products.
China will also have space to respond to Trump’s actions, reducing the risk of immediate dramatic retaliation from Beijing, and Trump struck an emollient tone as he started speaking, saying “I view them as a friend.”
“We have spoken to China and we are in the middle of negotiations,” Trump said, adding that loss of American jobs from unfair trade was one of the main reasons he had been elected in 2016.
Washington will also pursue alleged breaches of intellectual property law by China through the World Trade Organization, a body that has repeatedly drawn the ire of the administration but which could provide a resolution that avoids a trade war.
In addition, Trump will also direct the U.S. Treasury to propose measures that could restrict Chinese investments in the United States, Eissenstat said.
The tariffs and investment restrictions will be imposed under the U.S. Trade Representative’s “Section 301” investigation into alleged misappropriation of U.S. intellectual property by China.
As you may have seen, the stock market is plummeting today against the announcement of these new tariffs. Right now it’s down over 400 points, which is double what it was when I was at lunch.
Clearly investors in the stock market are worried about what these new tariffs will do.
Here is Trump’s full announcement if you want to watch it: