US unveils list of 1,300 Chinese products for tariffs

The Trump administration on Tuesday, April 3, came out with a list of 1,300 Chinese exports worth $50 billion that the former is eyeing to impose tariffs on. The latest move comes as a retaliation to China's recent imposition of tariffs on 128 American goods which itself was a counter-measure to the USA's imposing steep tariffs on steel and aluminium imports.

The Trump administration has planned the trade penalty vis-à-vis China for its alleged theft of secrets, technology and patents.

Many of the tariffs would target China's aerospace, tech and machinery industries while others would affect medical equipment, educational material and medicine.

China understandably condemned the US move saying it would take up the matter with the World Trade Organisation and take "corresponding measures of equal scale and strength against US products". The Chinese embassy in the US informed about it.

The latest tariffs by the US would not come into effect soon. The US administration will hold a public hearing for American businesses in May and the decision of tariffs could be applied after that.

Not all in the US are happy

The US business leaders, however, did not agree with the Trump administration's drastic step on China. They said though it rightly took up the problem aiming to restore fairness in Washington's trade with Beijing, its remedy was not right.

Top sources in the US Chamber of Commerce said that imposing taxes on goods that are used regularly by job creators and consumers in the US was not the solution to the problem. The commerce body is known to be a strong opponent of Trump's trade policies.

US lobbies working for the country's farmers have also appealed to the Trump administration to refrain from imposing the tariffs for they fear China would do the same, hurting the interest of the US farmers since the Asian power is one the largest buyers of their crops.

"We continue to urge the administration to listen to farmers across rural America who can't afford new taxes on their exports," CNN Money quoted Max Baucus, a former Democratic senator from Montana and co-chairman of Farmers for Free Trade, as saying.