1,300 products on new tariffs list target unfair Chinese intellectual property practices

by WorldTribune Staff, April 4, 2018

In a second wave of tariffs, the Trump administration on April 3 released a list of 1,300 Chinese products that will be hit by 25 percent import taxes.

President Donald Trump: ‘We are not in a trade war with China, that war was lost many years ago.’ / AP

The list includes Chinese-made communication satellite parts, flat screen televisions, semiconductors and industrial machinery, bakery ovens and rocket launchers.

The White House said the new tariffs would be imposed in response to to China’s unfair intellectual property practices, such as those that pressure U.S. companies to share technology with Chinese firms.

President Donald Trump tweeted on April 4: “We are not in a trade war with China, that war was lost many years ago by the foolish, or incompetent, people who represented the U.S. Now we have a Trade Deficit of $500 Billion a year, with Intellectual Property Theft of another $300 Billion. We cannot let this continue!”

Earlier this year, Trump announced tariffs on Chinese aluminum and steel.

China responded by saying it would place 25 percent trade tariffs on 106 U.S. goods, including soybeans, aircraft and orange juice.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said the new tariffs were “appropriate both in light of the estimated harm to the U.S. economy and to obtain elimination of China’s harmful acts, policies and practices.”

According to U.S. data, the U.S. and China exchanged more than $700 billion in goods and services last year. In 2016, the U.S. received 18.2 percent of all Chinese exports.

The full U.S. list can be found here


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