Trump imposes fresh tariffs on Chinese goods
U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff increase to 25 percent on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods has taken effect.
It's ratcheted up tensions between the United States and China as they pursue last-ditch talks to try to salvage a trade deal.
With no action from the Trump administration to reverse the increase, U.S. Customs and Border Protection imposed the new 25 percent duty on affected U.S.-bound cargoes leaving China after 12:01 a.m. EDT (0401 GMT) on Friday.
Goods in the more than 5,700 affected product categories that left Chinese ports and airports before midnight will be subject to the original 10 percent duty rate, a CBP spokeswoman said.
The grace period was not applied to three previous rounds of tariffs imposed last year on Chinese goods, which had much longer notice periods of at least three weeks before the duties took effect.
Trump gave U.S. importers less than five days notice about his decision to increase the rate on the $200 billion category of goods to 25 percent, which now matches the rate on a prior $50 billion category of Chinese machinery and technology goods.
The hike comes in the midst of two days of talks between top U.S. and Chinese negotiators to try to rescuing a faltering deal aimed at ending end a 10-month trade war between the world's two largest economies.
The biggest Chinese import sector affected by the rate hike is a $20 billion-plus category of internet modems, routers and other data transmission devices, followed by about $12 billion worth of printed circuit boards used in a vast array of U.S.-made products.
Furniture, lighting products, auto parts, vacuum cleaners and building materials are also high on the list of products subject to the higher duties.
Gary Shapiro, chief executive of the Consumer Technology Association said the tariffs would be paid by American consumers and businesses, not China, as Trump has claimed.
Published: by Radio NewsHub