This time the primary targets are components and intermediate products used across a wide range of industries. But the levies will also affect finished items, including ubiquitous products such as paper shopping bags and wooden crates. Some consumer electronic goods, chemicals and children’s products were exempted from the final list.
Bill Zarit, head of the American Chamber of Commerce in China, said that “our members were not that worried about the $50bn, but when the $200bn starts kicking in many of them are going to be significantly affected”.
The administration is readying a final list of $200 billion in Chinese imports on which it plans to levy tariffs of 10-25 percent in coming days, greatly expanding the trade war between the world’s two largest economies.