Trump told CNBC this morning that he’s ready to up the trade tariffs on China to cover everything they export to the US, which would mean an increase or roughly another 500 billion:
Here’s the reporting on it:
Trump said he is ‘ready to go’ with $500 billion in China import tariffs https://t.co/Jsawn0uefA #tictocnews pic.twitter.com/aTdWFJ3Sja
— TicToc by Bloomberg (@tictoc) July 20, 2018
Here’s more from the AP:
President Donald Trump has indicated that he’s willing to hit every product imported from China with tariffs, sending U.S. markets sliding before the opening bell Friday.
In a taped interview with the business channel CNBC, Trump said “I’m willing to go to 500,” referring roughly to the $505.5 billion in goods imported last year from China.
The administration to date has slapped tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese goods in a trade dispute over what it calls the nation’s predatory practices.
Dow futures which had already been pointing modestly lower slid sharply after the comments were aired by CNBC early Friday, indicating triple-digit losses when the market opens.
The yuan dipped to a 12-month low of 6.8 to the dollar, off by 7.6 percent since mid-February.
China has retaliated with duties of its own, hitting U.S. imports of soybeans and pork. The administration July 10 announced a second possible round targeting $200 billion worth of goods. Beijing vowed “firm and forceful measures” in response.
Beijing is targeting sectors, like agriculture, that could harm Trump politically at home, though he said in the CNBC interview that he is seeking to do only what is fair.
“I’m not doing this for politics, I’m doing this to do the right thing for our country,” Trump said. “We have been ripped off by China for a long time.”
Trump is also looking to expand his tariffs beyond just steel and aluminum:
Trump has ordered Commerce to investigate whether auto imports pose a threat to U.S. national security that would justify tariffs or other trade restrictions. Earlier this year, he used national security as a justification for taxing imported steel and aluminum.
Auto tariffs would escalate global trade tension dramatically: The U.S. last year imported $192 billion in vehicles and $143 billion in auto parts — figures that dwarf last year’s $29 billion in steel and $23 billion in aluminum imports.
I’m not sure if this is across the board or if Trump will just do this to target other countries like China, but involving cars would be a big deal. He’s threatened in the past huge car tariffs to keep companies from moving overseas, and I wonder if that’s part of his motivation here.
Let’s hope Congress steps in and regulates his ability to levy tariffs based on national security. We need more than symbolic votes here.