President says: prepare a tariff list $200 billion worth of Chinese imported goods

President Donald Trump threatened to escalate the trade fight with China into an all-out trade war on Monday, promising to impose massive tariffs on Chinese goods unless Beijing reverses course on its own trade actions.

Trump directed the US Trade Representative’s office to begin drawing up a list of $200 billion worth of Chinese goods to hit with a 10% tariff, dwarfing the size of previous trade actions against China.

“Therefore, today, I directed the United States Trade Representative to identify $200 billion worth of Chinese goods for additional tariffs at a rate of 10 percent,” Trump said. “After the legal process is complete, these tariffs will go into effect if China refuses to change its practices, and also if it insists on going forward with the new tariffs that it has recently announced.”

“This latest action by China clearly indicates its determination to keep the United States at a permanent and unfair disadvantage, which is reflected in our massive $376 billion trade imbalance in goods,” Trump said in a statement. “This is unacceptable.  Further action must be taken to encourage China to change its unfair practices, open its market to United States goods, and accept a more balanced trade relationship with the United States.”

U.S. soybean growers are on the front lines and farmers are already bracing for the impact of Chinese tariffs.

“Nobody is a winner today,” said American Soybean Association Vice President Davie Stephens, who grows soybeans in Kentucky. “In the midst of a down farm economy and down farm prices, this uncertainty has led to a drop of market prices. Adding additional export market uncertainty through an expected 25 percent retaliatory tariff on U.S. soybeans into China ensures that soy growers and the rural communities that depend on them will see the effects of this for years to come.”