U.S. to impose new tariffs on $16B worth of Chinese goods

Aug. 7 (UPI) -- The United States will impose a 25 percent tariff on an additional $16 billion worth of Chinese goods starting in about two weeks, the U.S. Trade Representative announced Tuesday.

Customs and Border Protection will begin to collect the new duties on 279 Chinese imports, including motorcycles, railway cars and thermometers, beginning Aug. 23.

The list originally included 284 items, but was edited after the USTR and the interagency Section 301 Committee received comments and testimony during a two-day public hearing in July.

The latest tranche of tariffs comes after the United States imposed $34 billion in tariffs on Chinese products including industrial machinery, office equipment, electronics, medical devices and vehicles on July 6. Beijing promptly responded with its own taxes on U.S.-made aircraft, cars, computer chips, fuel, pork and soybeans.

China also proposed new retaliatory tariffs, ranging from 5 percent to 25 percent, against the United States on more than 5,000 U.S. goods worth $60 billion on Friday.

Beijing's Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council said China was forced to take the countermeasures, after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would consider raising tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods from 10 percent to 25 percent.

On Aug. 1, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 81 points, as traders were concerned over reports of the tariff increases.