US administration pondering a tariff hike to 25% on Chinese goods – Bloomberg

As initially reported by Bloomberg, the US White House administration is considering raising planned tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods from 10% to 25% at the border, which would drastically ratchet up trade tensions. Both sides  have so far refused to return to the negotiating table, with both China and the US saying it is the other’s responsibility to jump-start renegotiations. In typical stand-off fashion, US President Trump has stated that he would be willing to impose tariffs on every single Chinese good that crosses the border into the US, a move that would be devastating to both countries’ economies.

Key quotes

“The Trump administration will propose raising to 25 percent its planned 10 percent tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports, a move that would ratchet up pressure on Beijing to return to the negotiating table, three people familiar with the internal deliberations said.

The U.S. imposed 25 percent tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese products in early July, and the review period on another $16 billion of imports ends Wednesday.”