Trump orders US Trade Rep to find $200b of Chinese goods to hit with new tariffs

If China reacts once again to the United States imposing tariffs on it, the US will find an additional $200 billion worth of goods to throw tariffs on.

United States President Donald Trump has made good on his pledge to escalate the US-China trade war through a cycle of tit-for-tat exchanges, as America is set to hit back at Chinese retaliations after the US levied tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese goods over the weekend.

Due to Beijing matching the total amount of goods hit with tariffs, Trump said on Monday US time that China was "threatening United States companies, workers, and farmers who have done nothing wrong".

"This latest action by China clearly indicates its determination to keep the United States at a permanent and unfair disadvantage," Trump said. "This is unacceptable.

"Therefore, today, I directed the United States Trade Representative to identify $200 billion worth of Chinese goods for additional tariffs at a rate of 10 percent."

Trump added that if Beijing hit back at this latest manoeuvre, the US would find another $200 billion worth of goods to impose tariffs on.

In April, the Trump administration outlined around 1,300 products worth $50 billion that would be hit with proposed tariffs. On Friday, that list had been reduced to 1,102 items of the same value, with 818 items worth $34 billion set to be hit with tariffs from July, and the $16 billion remainder to undergo further review and a public hearing on July 24 before a final determination is made.

For its part, China said it "doesn't want a trade war" but has to "fight back strongly", a Commerce Ministry statement said on Saturday.

The president said on Monday that he has an "excellent relationship" with his Chinese counterpart, and that the two countries would continue to work together.

White House trade adviser Peter Navarro last week said a deal to keep ZTE in business was a personal favour to the Chinese president, and said that if the company fell afoul of the US one more time, it would be shut down.

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