US to release China product list for tariff this week

President Donald Trump is in no mood to spare the Chinese in the trade war and it became evident once again as news about Washington set to unveil a list of Chinese products it was aiming to impose tariff on came out on Monday, April 2. The Trump administration will release this week the list to corner Beijing on technology transfer policies and it is likely to raise tension between the two powers further.

On Sunday, April 1, Beijing imposed a steep tariff of upto 25 per cent on 128 American products including frozen pork and fruits after Washington put heavy tariffs on imports of aluminum and steel in March. Being the producer of half the world's steel, China was at the receiving end of this decision and retaliated soon after.

US officials said the list of annual imports worth $50-$60 billion is likely to aim the "largely high technology" products and it could take more than two months before the tariffs come into play.

The office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) has to unveil the list of products by Friday, April 6, under Trump's China tariff proclamation signed in the third week of March.

The latest set of tariffs are aimed to making the government of China change its policies that according to USTR, leads to "uneconomic" transfer of American intellectual property to Chinese forms, the Reuters reported.

The agency's 'Section 301' investigation which authorises the tariffs accused China of misappropriating US intellectual property through joint venture requirements, buying of US technology firms with state funding and even theft and unjust technology licensing rules.

China, on its part, said its law doesn't require technology transfers and threatened to hit back by putting trade sanctions against more US commodities, like aircraft and heavy equipment.

OneIndia News