Trump heaps more tariffs on China as deal still elusive

Bloomberg

The Trump administration slapped tariffs on roughly $110 billion in Chinese imports on Sunday, marking the latest escalation in a trade war that’s inflicting damage across the world economy.
The 15% US duty hit consumer goods ranging from footwear and apparel to home textiles and certain technology products like the Apple Watch. A separate batch of about $160 billion in Chinese goods — including laptops and cellphones — will be hit with 15% tariffs on December 15. President Donald Trump delayed part of the levies to blunt the impact on holiday shopping.
While Trump administration dismissed concern about a protracted trade war, business groups are calling for a tariff truce and resumption of negotiations between world’s two-largest economies.
Face-to-face talks between Chinese and American trade negotiators scheduled for Washington in September are still happening “as of now,” Trump told reporters.
“We’re going to win the fight,” he said.
“China’s determination to fight against the US economic warmongering has only grown stronger, and its countermeasures more resolute, measured and targeted,” according to a commentary by the official Xinhua News Agency after the tariffs kicked in. One thing that “White House tariff men should learn is that the Chinese economy is strong and resilient enough to resist the pressure brought about in the ongoing trade war.”
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office in August projected that by 2020, Trump’s tariffs and trade war will reduce the level of real US GDP by about 0.3% and reduce average real household income by $580.
China’s retaliation took effect as of 12:01 pm on Sunday in Beijing, with higher tariffs being rolled out in stages on a total of about $75 billion of US goods. Its target list strikes at the heart of Trump’s political support — factories and farms across the Midwest and South at a time when the US economy is showing signs of slowing down.
Higher Chinese duties that took effect September 1 include an extra 10% on American beef, and chicken, and various other agricultural goods, while soybeans will get hit with an extra 5% tariff on top of the existing 25%. Starting in mid-December, American wheat, sorghum, and cotton will also get a further 10% tariff.