U.S. places tech tariff on China, but smartphones are not affected

Beijing and Washington have held three rounds of high-level talks since early May that have yet to yield a compromise, with Mr Trump unmoved by a Chinese offer to buy an additional US$70 billion worth of USA farm and energy products and other goods, people familiar with the matter have said.

The 25% tariff issued by the Chinese government includes everything from agricultural products, soybeans, corn, and wheat to beef, pork, poultry, and automobiles.

Companies and trade groups in the United States and China have expressed concern over how the escalating trade spat between the world’s two biggest economies could affect operations.

So far, companies with business in China have mostly kept low profiles, hoping the U.S. and China would strike a deal, according to Samm Sacks, a senior fellow in the Technology Policy Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. A host of other Chinese machinery used by American apparel companies that had been on a preliminary tariff list – like textile printing equipment, sewing machines and looms – made it through unscathed. USTR said Customs and Border Protection would begin collecting the additional duties on July 6. “There has been plenty of back and forth before – the track record is there”.

“The delegation delivered a clear and concise message to Secretary Ross and Undersecretary Censky: they want better deals for ag producers”, Cramer said.

United States trade groups also stepped up their criticism, while some large companies such as Boeing said they were beginning to evaluate the tariffs’ possible effects.

Top among American products hit with duties by China are agricultural exports, with soybeans, sorghum, oranges, pork, poultry and beef included in the Dollars 34 billion in goods targeted for higher border taxes starting next month.

The Chinese government has chose to impose additional duties of 25 per cent on 659 items of US products worth about Dollars 50 billion, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. An initial list of 545 categories of items valued at $34 billion will be subject to tariffs starting July 6th-the same day the USA says it will impose tariffs.

Beijing and Washington have held three rounds of high-level talks since early May that have yet to yield a compromise.

Official Communist Party newspaper the People’s Daily condemned what it described as the United States administration’s “obsession with playing the disgraceful role of global economic disruptor”.

China says its tariffs mirror the American ones.

Other multinational companies that do a lot of business in China could also be caught in the crosshairs of the trade fight.

Is it time Beijing ditched “Made in China 2025” and stopped upsetting the rest of the world?

“There is no doubt that it will affect our bottom line”, if there is a trade war, he said. We have espoused the benefits of capitalism, of free trade, of open markets to the whole world.

“The United States will pursue additional tariffs” if China retaliates, President Trump said in a White House statement. Washington warned it would go further if Beijing reacted harshly to its decision.

Donald Trump has warned that if China retaliates, the U.S. will impose even more tariffs. After some skirmishes related to washing-machine and solar-panel tariffs, Trump struck the first direct blow at China in March with the announcement of tariffs on Chinese goods. Tariffs on $34 billion of goods will take effect from July 6, according to Reuters. A second set of imports subject to tariffs is still under review.

But others were less optimistic.

With the the USA and China exchanging volleys, analysts said the trade fight is likely to continue for months, with little prospect of an agreement before the midterm elections in November. “It is hard to see either side backing down in the near future”.