Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg (Qilai Shen/Bloomberg)President Trump has decided to impose tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods, two people briefed on the decision said, one of the most severe economic restrictions ever imposed by a U.S. president. The U.S. imports roughly $500 billion in Chinese goods each year, and — combined with existing tariffs — these new penalties would cover half of all goods sent to the U.S. from China each year. Trump first imposed tariffs on roughly $50 billion in Chinese products this summer. Trump responded this summer by ordering his advisers to come up with a list of $200 billion in other Chinese products to penalize, a package of products that includes many consumer products. The U.S. ran a $233.5 billion deficit in goods trade with China during the first seven months of the year, an 8 percent increase compared with the same period in 2017.

Source: Washington Post September 15, 2018 20:45 UTC