US Plans To Impose High Tariffs On Chinese Goods

The US has revealed plans to impose tariffs on up to $60bn (£42.5bn) in Chinese goods and limit the country’s investment in the US.

This according to reports is in retaliation for years of alleged intellectual property theft. The White House said the actions were necessary to counter unfair competition from China’s state-led economy.

It said years of talks had failed to produce change. China said it was ready to retaliate with “necessary measures”.

Beijing also said it would “fight to the end” in any trade war with the US.

US stock markets closed lower on Thursday, as investors responded to the announcement.

The Dow Jones ended the day at 23,957.89, a fall of 2.9% or 724.42 points – making it the fifth biggest points fall ever.

The S&P 500 shed 2.5% or 68.24 points to 2,643.69, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 2.4% or 178.61 points to finish at 7,166.68.

Signing a memo related to the sanctions, Mr Trump said the US and China were negotiating and he was looking for “reciprocal” trade terms for American companies.

He said the tariffs might be imposed on up to $60bn in Chinese goods – boosting the number from the roughly $50bn figure White House officials cited on Thursday morning during a briefing.