BY CATHY HE, EPOCH TIMES
President Donald Trump announced on Aug. 1 that he would impose new tariffs of 10 percent on $300 billion worth of Chinese imports, to take effect on Sept. 1.
The surprise move came a day after face-to-face talks between U.S. and China negotiators concluded in Shanghai.
“Trade talks are continuing, and during the talks the U.S. will start, on September 1st, putting a small additional Tariff of 10% on the remaining 300 Billion Dollars of goods and products coming from China into our Country. This does not include the 250 Billion Dollars already Tariffed at 25%,” Trump wrote in a tweet.
Donald J. Trump✔@realDonaldTrump
…buy agricultural product from the U.S. in large quantities, but did not do so. Additionally, my friend President Xi said that he would stop the sale of Fentanyl to the United States – this never happened, and many Americans continue to die! Trade talks are continuing, and…
Donald J. Trump✔@realDonaldTrump
…during the talks the U.S. will start, on September 1st, putting a small additional Tariff of 10% on the remaining 300 Billion Dollars of goods and products coming from China into our Country. This does not include the 250 Billion Dollars already Tariffed at 25%…30.2K1:26 PM – Aug 1, 2019
U.S. and Chinese trade representatives had just wrapped up two days of talks, described by both sides as “constructive.” They were the first in-person meetings since talks broke down in early May. At the time, the United States accused the Chinese regime of backtracking on agreed-upon provisions negotiated over previous months.
Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping later agreed to restart talks during the G-20 Summit in Japan in late June, with Trump agreeing to hold off on threatened tariffs on the remaining $300 billion value of annual Chinese imports.
The president, in a series of tweets, said the Chinese regime has failed to deliver on a pledge to buy more U.S. agricultural products as part of his agreement with Xi to restart talks.
“China agreed to buy agricultural product from the U.S. in large quantities, but did not do so,” Trump wrote in a series of tweets.
Trump also said that China has not followed through on its commitment to stem the flow of synthetic opioid fentanyl into the United States. Xi agreed to this measure during a previous meeting with Trump at the sidelines of the G-20 in Argentina last December.
“Additionally, my friend President Xi said that he would stop the sale of Fentanyl to the United States – this never happened, and many Americans continue to die!”
China manufactures most of the fentanyl and fentanyl analogues found in the United States. The synthetic drugs have contributed to the current opioid crisis; the United States recorded more than 28,000 synthetic opioid-related overdose deaths in 2017, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the majority of them fentanyl-related.
U.S. stock prices immediately fell after Trump’s announcement, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling into negative territory.
Another round of talks between the world’s two largest economies have been scheduled for September.
Washington and Beijing have been locked in a trade dispute for more than a year, after the Trump administration slapped punitive tariffs on the Chinese regime for failing to address longstanding unfair trade practices including theft of U.S. intellectual property, forced technology transfer, and currency manipulation. Such issues are a sticking point for the United States during trade negotiations.
