Trump threatens China with sanctions on trade imbalance

Washington, February 14 

US President Donald Trump has threatened China with sanctions for trade imbalance and policies that are hurting the American industry, a move that could result in increasing chances of a trade war between two of the world’s largest economies.

Warning China, Trump said Beijing has decimated the American steel and aluminium industry and he is “considering all options”.

“My administration is now reviewing the reports and considering all options. And part of the options would be tariffs coming in,” Trump said.

“As they dump steel, they pay tariffs —substantial tariffs — which means the US would actually make a lot of money, and probably steel industry and aluminum industry would come back into our country. Right now, it’s decimated,” Trump told lawmakers and members of his Cabinet during a White House meeting.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, he said, submitted the result of the investigations to him this month. “It’ll make a decision, and I will make a decision that reflects the best interests of the US, including the need to address overproduction in China and other countries. You have countries that are so overproducing, and what they’re doing is they are dumping it on us. And you look at empty factories, steel factories, and plants, and it’s a very sad thing to look at,” Trump said.

Trump said the US has a trade deficit with China which is now $504 billion. “We’re not going to allow that. We’re talking to them right now, very strongly. It’s a big percentage of our deficits. And the money that we’ve lost and the jobs that we’ve lost to China, it’s unthinkable that people allowed that to happen,” he said. — PTI

Curbs will hit global economy, warns China 

Beijing: US trade sanctions will hit the world economy, Beijing warned on Wednesday, after President Donald Trump threatened to impose fresh tariffs on imports from China. Trump said he was “considering all options,” including tariffs and quotas, after he accused China of decimating the American steel and aluminium industries. Washington has already imposed a range of tariffs on Chinese-made goods, sparking fears of a tit-for-tat trade war between the world’s top two economies as China also threatens to take action. Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said “any sign of unilateralism or protectionism will ... worsen global trade issues and will hurt the recovering momentum of the world economy”. AFP