WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - US President Donald Trump said on Thursday (Aug 1) that he would impose a 10 per cent tariff on the remaining US$300 billion (S$413 billion) of Chinese imports starting Sept 1, after negotiators failed to make progress in United States-China trade talks.
Mr Trump has used tariffs as a tool to negotiate better terms of trade for the US, saying bad deals cost millions of American jobs.
The following is a list of tariffs levied by the US and its trading partners.
US TARIFFS ON CHINA
- 25 per cent tariffs on US$50 billion worth of technology goods including machinery, semiconductors, autos, aircraft parts and intermediate electronics components imposed on July 6 and Aug 23 as part of "Section 301" probe into China's intellectual property practices.
- 25 per cent tariffs on US$200 billion worth of goods including computer modems and routers, printed circuit boards, chemicals, building materials and furniture.
- A 10 per cent tariff on these goods was imposed on Sept 24, 2018 as a response to retaliation by Beijing. Mr Trump increased the tariff rate to 25 per cent on May 10 after accusing China of backtracking on earlier commitments in the talks.
- US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has launched the process to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all remaining imports from China, another US$300 billion worth of goods. That would hit consumer products hard, including cellphones, computers, clothing, toys and other consumer products.
CHINESE TARIFFS ON UNITED STATES
- China on May 13 announced that it would increase tariffs on a revised list of 5,140 US products, worth about US$60 billion, after Mr Trump's move. The additional tariff of 25 per cent will be levied on 2,493 products, including liquefied natural gas, soya oil, peanut oil, petrochemicals, frozen minerals and cosmetics. Other products will see tariffs of 5 per cent to 20 per cent.
- 25 per cent tariffs on US$50 billion worth of US goods including soybeans, beef, pork, seafood, vegetables, whiskey, ethanol, imposed on July 6 and Aug 23 in retaliation for initial rounds of US tariffs. China had suspended a 25 per cent duty on US auto imports during their trade negotiations. Beijing has resumed some purchases of US soybeans, but has not formally suspended those tariffs.
- Based on 2018 US Census Bureau trade data, China would only have about US$10 billion in US imports left to levy in retaliation for any future US tariffs. Retaliation could come in other forms, such as increased regulatory hurdles for US companies doing business in China.
US GLOBAL TARIFFS
- 25 per cent tariffs on imported steel and 10 per cent tariffs on imported aluminium, imposed on March 23, 2018, on national security grounds.
Exemptions have been granted to Argentina, Australia, Brazil and South Korea in exchange for quotas. Canada and Mexico were exempted from the tariffs in May. In response, both countries lifted their retaliatory tariffs on the US.
- 20 per cent to 50 per cent tariffs on imported washing machines, imposed on Jan 22, 2018, as a "global safeguard" action to protect US producers Whirlpool Corp and GE Appliances, a unit of China's Haier Electronics Group Co.
- 30 per cent tariffs on imported solar panels, imposed on Jan 22, 2018, as a "global safeguard" action to protect US producers Solar World, based in Germany, and Suniva, owned by China's Shunfeng International Clean Energy.
- Mr Trump is considering tariffs of around 25 per cent on imported cars and auto parts, based on a Commerce Department study of whether such imports threaten US national security.
- The new US-Mexico-Canada Agreement protects Canadian and Mexican production in the event of such tariffs through a quota system.
Mr Trump has pledged not to impose auto tariffs on Japan and the European Union while trade negotiations with those partners are underway.
EUROPEAN UNION TARIFFS ON UNITED STATES
The European Union on June 22 imposed import duties of 25 per cent on a US$2.8 billion range of imports from the US in retaliation for US tariffs on European steel and aluminium.
Targeted US products include Harley-Davidson motorcycles, bourbon, peanuts, blue jeans, steel and aluminium.
INDIAN TARIFFS
Mr Trump ended preferential trade treatment for India in early June, resulting in US tariffs on up to US$5.6 billion of imports from India.
India, the world's biggest buyer of US almonds, responded by slapping import duties on the nuts and 27 other US products.
DUELLING TARIFFS WITH TURKEY
The US halved tariffs in May to 25 per cent on Turkish steel imports and 10 per cent on aluminium. It had doubled US duty rates on steel and aluminium from Turkey 50 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively, in August 2018 citing national security and currency concerns in an escalating trade spat between the Nato allies.
In response, Turkey said it would cut its tariffs on some US goods in response to the US reduction. It has tariffs on US$1.8 billion worth of US goods, including motor vehicles, alcoholic beverages, rice, structural steel and beauty products.
Mr Trump ended preferential trade treatment for Turkey, effective May 17, a move that imposes tariffs on about US$1.66 billion of Turkish imports.
