U.S. proposes $200B more in tariffs on Chinese imports

The Trump administration is readying tariffs on another $200 billion US in Chinese imports, ranging from burglar alarms to mackerel.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative published the list of more than 6,031 product lines Tuesday and proposed 10 per cent tariffs on them. The office will hear public comments on the plan and will reach a decision after Aug. 31, according to a senior administration official who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity.

Last Friday, the U.S. imposed 25 per cent tariffs on $34 billion in Chinese products, and Beijing responded by hitting the same amount of U.S. imports.

The administration said the new levies are a response to China's decision to retaliate against the first round of U.S. tariffs.

U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to tax as much as $550 billion in Chinese products an amount that exceeds America's total imports from China last year.

The United States complains that China uses predatory practices in a push to challenge American technological dominance. Chinese tactics, the administration says, include outright cybertheft and forcing U.S. companies to hand over technology in exchange for access to the Chinese market.

The initial U.S. tariff list focused on Chinese industrial products in an attempt to limit the impact on American consumers. By expanding the list, the administration is beginning to hit products that U.S. households buy, including such things as electric lamps and fish sticks.

Tonight's announcement appears reckless and is not a targeted approach- Senate finance chairmanOrrinHatch

"Tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese products amounts to another multibillion-dollar tax on American businesses and families," said Scott Lincicome, a trade lawyer and senior policy analyst for the group Republicans Fighting Tariffs. "Given China's likelihood of retaliation, it's also billions worth of new tariffs on American exporters."

Members of Congress are increasingly questioning Trump's aggressive trade policies, warning that tariffs on imports raise prices for consumers and expose U.S. farmers and manufacturers to retaliation abroad.

"Tonight's announcement appears reckless and is not a targeted approach," Senate finance chairman Orrin Hatch, Republican from Utah, said in a statement. "We cannot turn a blind eye to China's mercantilist trade practices, but this action falls short of a strategy that will give the administration negotiating leverage with China while maintaining the long-term health and prosperity of the American economy."