MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th September, 2018) US President Donald Trump plans to announce the imposition of new levies on the Chinese goods and services worth $200 billion on September 17-18, local media reported Saturday.
Earlier in the week, media reported that Trump's administration had invited China to hold another round of trade talks in a bid to prevent the imposition of new levies, since it reportedly threatened to damage the Republican majority in the Senate.
Trump plans to announce additional levies despite the fact that his aides are currently preparing a high-level meeting with the Chinese authorities aimed at resolving the trade dispute between the two countries, The Wall Street Journal newspaper reported, citing sources.
According to the news outlet, the decision is currently being finalized and certain details might still be changed.
In early August, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said Trump had asked him to consider raising tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods from 10 to 25 percent. The exact date for the new tariffs' enactment has not been specified.
The China-US trade tensions sharply escalated in March, after Trump announced import duties on steel and aluminum. Since then, Washington and Beijing exchanged several rounds of tit-for-tat tariffs, with bilateral trade consultations failing to yield results.
