25% Tariffs Kick In on Chinese Import Products! Still, Trade Talks Continue on Friday!

The hand ticked passed midnight in the U.S. and as promised, Trump administration has hiked the tariffs from 10% to 25% on more than 5,700 different product categories from China worth $200 billion.

Such a move would take weeks to deploy. But it would have significant repercussions for the U.S., Chinese and global economies.

 

Apparently, the 90 minutes talk between Vice Premier Liu He and the U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Thursday did not make up much to what had lost.

Though talks are set to resume Friday, some close observers said they were not hopeful for any meaningful breakthroughs. One person familiar with the discussions said that U.S. officials were unsure whether Liu had the authority to make any meaningful commitments. It was also unclear whether China had resolved the internal debates that had led to last week’s rescinding of prior commitments to enshrine reforms agreed in Chinese law.

The move risks widening a trade war that has spooked investors and raised fears about global economic damage. Meanwhile, China’s Ministry of Commerce stated that China regretted US hiking tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods and will be forced to take necessary countermeasures.