$200b in New Tariffs

US President Donald Trump has decided to impose tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese imports and could make the announcement in the coming days, US media reported, according to AFP report. Citing anonymous sources, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal reported that the tariffs would be set at 10%. Trump has already imposed 25% tariffs on steel imports and 10% on aluminum, as well as 25% on $50 billion in goods from China. The prospect of new tariffs undercuts hopes of an imminent reduction in trade tensions between Washington and Beijing. The tariffs are one of the most severe economic restrictions ever imposed by a US president, Washington Post said. The new tariffs would apply to more than 1,000 products, including refrigerators, air conditioners, furniture, televisions and toys. These penalties could drive up the cost of a range of products ahead of the holiday shopping season, though it’s unclear how much. Apple said recently its Apple Watch, AirPods, MacMini and a variety of chargers and adapters would be caught in the tariff war. Apple said, “The burden of the proposed tariffs will fall much more heavily on the United States than on China.”