Chinese Tariffs Will Raise to 25% Tomorrow Unless Talks Progress

Washington, DC, May 9, 2019-The U.S. formerly filed paperwork Wednesday to raise tariffs on Chinese-made goods to 25% on May 10 unless progress is made in trade talks, resuming today, says the Wall Street Journal, “the U.S. formally filed paperwork Wednesday to raise tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods to 25% from the current 10% at 12:01 a.m. Friday. Beijing’s Commerce Ministry responded by threatening to take unspecified countermeasures. At a campaign rally in Florida Wednesday night, Mr. Trump said Chinese leaders ‘broke the deal’ in trade talks with the U.S.

“In the current negotiations, the U.S. thought China agreed to detail the laws it would change to implement the trade deal under negotiation. Beijing said it had no intention of doing so, triggering Mr. Trump’s threat Sunday to escalate tariffs and bringing the dispute into the open.

“The hardened battle lines were prompted by Beijing’s decision to take a more aggressive stance in negotiations, according to the people following the talks. They said Beijing was emboldened by the perception that the U.S. was ready to compromise.”

Several insiders close to the talks are optimistic that some resolution averting the increased tariffs could occur today. If not, the cost of flooring products imported from China will increase by more than 10% starting Friday.