Trump to impose tariffs on Chinese goods; backlash feared

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced Thursday that the United States will impose tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods and enact restrictions limiting China’s ability to invest in U.S. technology as part of an effort to combat what White House officials called “China’s economic aggression.”

“It’s going to make us a much stronger, much richer nation,” Trump said at a White House ceremony, moments before signing a memorandum outlining a series of trade actions aimed at closing the $375 billion trade deficit with China. The actions also aim to curb what U.S. officials have described as widespread intellectual property theft of American companies by the Chinese government.

China in turn announced a list of U.S. goods including pork and aluminum pipe it says may be hit by higher tariffs in response to Trump’s announcement, The Associated Press reported.

The Chinese Commerce Ministry criticized Trump’s action as a violation of global trading principles, the AP said.

Trump’s announcement comes a day before recently announced tariffs on imported steel and aluminum are set to go into effect. The back-to-back tariffs have sparked concerns among investors and lawmakers alike of a looming global trade war that could affect American manufacturers and farmers.

Fears of a trade war drove markets lower Thursday, with the Dow Jones industrial average sliding more than 700 points and the Nasdaq Composite and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index down as well.

National Association of Manufacturers president Jay Timmons said the group “welcomed” Trump’s focus on the “serious problem” of intellectual property theft, but had concerns about the possible consequences of the latest round of tariffs.

“They are likely to create new challenges in the form of significant added costs for manufacturers and American consumers,” Timmons said in a statement. “In addition to these challenges, tariffs also run the risk of provoking China to take further destructive actions against American manufacturing workers.”

Senior administration officials, speaking to reporters earlier in the day, defended the series of economic restrictions, saying they are needed to protect the country’s economic future — specifically the technology sector — against efforts by China to steal U.S.-designed technology.

A seven-month investigation launched by the Trump administration, under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, determined that China engaged in “unfair” practices including coercing American companies seeking to do business in China to turn over their intellectual property, or stealing their work by hacking into U.S. computer networks.

“China has sought to acquire advantage through the unfair acquisition or forced technology transfer from U.S. companies with an aim toward establishing its own competitive advantage,” said Everett Eissenstat, deputy director of the White House National Economic Council.

Trump’s memorandum also calls on his administration to pursue further action against China via the World Trade Organization, and directs the Treasury Department to implement new measures blocking Chinese companies from investing in certain sectors of the U.S. economy.

The tariffs, which Trump hinted could be the first of more to come, will not go into effect immediately. The U.S. Trade Representative must first publish a list of goods impacted subject to the tariffs within 15 days, and then a 30-day public comment period will follow, according to the White House.

The Chinese Embassy in the United States, in a statement issued hours after Trump’s announcement said, “China is not afraid and will not recoil from a trade war,” and said Trump’s move will “jeopardize international trade order and world economic stability.”

Trump said he’d spoken about the tariffs with Chinese President Xi Jinping, whom he called a “friend.” He said he would continue to negotiate with China to reduce the trade deficit.