President Donald Trump said on Thursday he had instructed U.S. trade officials to consider $100 billion in additional tariffs on China, again ratcheting up tensions with Beijing.
Trump said in a statement that the further tariffs were being considered “in light of China’s unfair retaliation” against earlier U.S. trade actions that included $50 billion of tariffs on Chinese goods.
In a statement, Trump said the U.S. Trade Representative had determined that China “has repeatedly engaged in practices to unfairly obtain America’s intellectual property.”
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Financial markets have swung wildly over the past few days in response to fears of escalating trade tensions between the world’s two biggest economies.
U.S. stock index futures fell in reaction to Trump’s latest statement.
Before the latest announcement, U.S. lawmakers had reacted with mounting concern on Thursday over the threat to the American agricultural sector from the trade confrontation with China.
