Donald Trump threatens new tariffs on £150bn of Chinese trade

The prospect of a tit-for-tat trade war increased yesterday as Donald Trump threatened to introduce fresh tariffs of 10% on Chinese imports worth $200 bn (£150bn).

The threat followed the introduction of Chinese tariffs, which in turn followed a US levy of 25% on “659 US products worth $50 billion – including agricultural products, cars and marine products”, the BBC reports.

Trump said the measures were necessary “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”.

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China has reacted angrily to the new threat, accusing the US of using “extreme pressure and extortionist behaviour”. It said it would “strike back hard”.

The rhetoric on both sides reignited fears of a full-blown trade war and sent shockwaves through stock markets.

However, says CNN, China “faces challenges in retaliating directly” due to the trade imbalance between the two countries.

China exports around $505bn worth of goods to the US each year, while just $130bn worth of goods travel in the opposite direction.