Trump mulling tariff hike on $200B in Chinese imports: report

The Trump administration is weighing even higher tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese products as it seeks to drive Beijing back to the negotiating table. 

Bloomberg News reported Tuesday that the Trump administration is set to propose raising tariffs on the $200 billion in Chinese imports from 10 percent to 25 percent. 

The proposed change may be made public in a notice in the Federal Register in the coming days, according to Bloomberg.

{mosads}

The administration levied a 25-percent tariff on $34 billion in Chinese imports earlier this month. That move was met by retaliatory tariffs from China on an equal amount in U.S. goods. 

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said days later that President Trump had ordered him to “begin the process of imposing tariffs of 10 percent on an additional $200 billion of Chinese imports.”

The reported plan to raise those tariffs to 25 percent would dramatically escalate an already bitter trade war with Beijing, which Trump has long accused of unfair trade practices. 

China has warned that any duties imposed by the U.S. on its products will be met by equal measures.