Trump wants to impose tariffs on all Chinese imports

As negotiations resumed in September, US President Donald Trump on Thursday (August 2nd) woke up the trade war against China, announcing its intention to extend additional tariffs to all imports from the world's second-largest economy. The stupor has invaded markets around the world, worried about the impact on the US economy.

In a series of tweets, the US president, who seeks a second term, said that his administration would impose, as of September 1, "small additional tariffs of 10% on the $ 300 billion" imports Chinese until then spared.

... during the talks the US will start, on September 1st, putting a small additional Billion Dollars of goods and products coming from China into our Country. This Billions Dollars already Tariffed at 25% ...

"Imposing tariffs is in no way a constructive way of resolving economic and trade frictions," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in Bangkok in statements to a Chinese channel.

Donald Trump's announcement was like a market bomb: oil finished a nearly 8% drop in New York and Wall Street's main stock indices ended in the red. On the Asian markets, the reaction was identical to the opening: the Tokyo Stock Exchange lost more than 2% Friday around 1:30 GMT and Chinese stock markets opened sharply lower, Hong Kong giving up 2.32% and Shanghai 1.63%.

"I'm not worried" about the decline in markets, then assured Donald Trump to journalists. "I was expecting it," he added. He also said that Chinese President Xi Jinping wanted an agreement but said he "was not going fast enough".

If these taxes were actually implemented, all imports from the Asian giant would be overtaxed. Donald Trump also warned that he could further increase tariffs on Chinese products if Beijing did not accept US requirements. He mentioned the possibility of going "well beyond 25%".

Negotiations "early September" as planned

However, Donald Trump, who has not stopped blowing hot and cold in this conflict, says that discussions will continue as planned "early September". But the president of the US-China Economic Council (USCBC), Craig Allen, fears that this decision will lead the Chinese to abandon negotiations.

The host of the White House justifies its decision by the fact that Beijing has not held in his eyes two very important commitments: massive purchases of US agricultural products and a stoppage in sales of fentanyl, a very powerful opiate which is wreaking havoc in the United States and of which China is one of the main producers.

Yet, Beijing said Thursday have bought in recent weeks more US agricultural products. And the negotiations between Americans and Chinese seemed to resume in a relatively peaceful climate this week in Shanghai.

On Wednesday, the two sides had even reported "productive" talks to try to end a trade war unleashed a little over a year ago.

Consumer goods affected?

"We did not see it coming," said Gregori Volokhine, an analyst at Meeschaert Financial Services. The president "plays with fire," he warns.

Washington already imposes additional tariffs of 25% on more than 250 billion dollars of Chinese goods. Beijing countered by imposing additional tariffs in return on some $ 110 billion worth of US products.

Until then, the US administration had spared consumer goods so that the US economy, driven by household consumption, remained relatively immune to the trade war. But the prospect of tariffs affecting all goods has caused market amazement. The Best Buy group, a chain of consumer electronics stores, dropped 9% immediately following the announcement.

Donald Trump embarked on a tariff war against China to get Chinese authorities to end subsidies to state-owned enterprises, technology transfers imposed on foreign companies or the "theft" of US intellectual property .

And he warned: he wants a "good deal" commercial or disagree at all. On Thursday, he went so far as to say that he could do without trading with China.

With AFP