Gold Silver Reports (GSR) – Trump Says U.S. Tariffs Could be Applied to Chinese Goods Worth $500 Billion – Trump confirmed that the United States would begin collecting tariffs on $34 billion in Chinese goods at 12:01 a.m. Washington D.C. time (0401 GMT) on Friday and warned that subsequent rounds could see tariffs on more than $500 billion of goods, or roughly the total amount that the United States imported from China last year.
“You have another 16 (billion dollars) in two weeks, and then, as you know, we have $200 billion in abeyance and then after the $200 billion, we have $300 billion in abeyance. Ok? So we have 50 plus 200 plus almost 300,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
Trump’s comments appeared to increase the stakes for potential retaliation by China. Previously, Trump had threatened up to impose additional tariffs on goods worth $400 billion should China follow through on its plans to retaliate against the initial U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods including autos, computer disk drives, pump and valve parts and light-emitting diodes.
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U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a notice it would begin collecting the 25 percent duties on 818 product lines identified in June by the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office.
Beijing has vowed to immediately respond with an equal amount of tariffs of its own against U.S. autos, agricultural and other products, but it was unclear how swiftly the actions could escalate into an all-out trade war.
