U.S. President Donald Trump has escalated a trade war with China by imposing 10 percent of tariffs on imports worth about $ 200 billion in a move that one senior Chinese official described as poisoning the atmosphere of negotiations.
In a statement issued on Monday, Trump warned that if China took retaliatory action against U.S. farmers and industries, it would immediately follow by the third phase of tariffs on nearly $ 267 billion of additional imports.
According to a newspaper quoting a government source in Beijing, China is reconsidering plans to send a delegation to Washington for new talks in the light of the U.S. decision, increasing the risk of a prolonged trade battle between the world's two largest economies and thus beating global growth.
Tariffs will start on September 24 but will rise to 25 percent by the end of 2018, allowing U.S. companies to adjust their supply chains to alternative countries.
The United States has so far imposed tariffs on Chinese products worth $ 50 billion to press Beijing to make sweeping changes to its trade policy.
China pledged to respond to new tariffs and unveiled last month a proposed list of tariffs on 60 billion US dollars of U.S. goods. The effect of the 10% tariff will gradually appear in the fourth quarter on Chinese data.
