Trump to Lay Out Line on China Trade

If China does retaliate, Trump threatened to add a further US$267 billion (NZ$406 billion) in Chinese imports to the target list.

Earlier this month, Apple said a "wide range" of its products would be hit by the proposed tariffs.

The product code covers wireless devices, and it was included on a preliminary list the administration released in July.

The Trump administration will announce as early as Monday that it's imposing a 10 percent tariff on $200 billion of Chinese goods, which Beijing has already said it will retaliate against, according to three people familiar with the decision.

Multiple media reports in recent days cite officials saying Trump had made a decision to press ahead with tariffs on $200 billion in goods as soon as Monday.

Since the world's two largest economies began a trade war with each other, their governments have imposed 25 percent tariffs on $50 billion of each other's products. Chinese officials have also signaled to USA counterparts that Mnuchin's talks won't happen.

Only last week, Beijing said it welcomed overtures from United States officials offering to re-start trade talks, but press reports indicate China would call off any meetings if the new punitive duties take effect.

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Apple asked Lighthizer to reconsider imposing the tariffs and instead take other measures that would support the United States economy and American consumers.

"The president's negotiating tactics do not work well with China's way of thinking", said Sung Won Sohn, chief economist at SS Economics in Los Angeles.

And in a victory for Apple Inc. and its American customers, the administration removed smart watches and some other consumer electronics products from the list of goods imported from China. China has said it's ready to impose retaliatory tariffs on USA goods. "I urge China's leaders to take swift action to end their country's unfair trade practices".

But the adjustments did little to appease technology and retail groups who argued that the tariffs would hit consumers hard. "Billions of Dollars is being spent on new plants all around the country!"

Levying new taxes on those goods, Trump told reporters today, could generate "a lot of" revenue. These tactics include hacking U.S. companies to steal their trade secrets and forcing them to turn over their knowhow in exchange for access to the Chinese market. "Consumers - not China - will bear the brunt of these tariffs and American farmers and ranchers will see the harmful effects of retaliation worsen".

Apple Inc. said last month the proposed duties on $200 billion cover a wide range of products used in its United States operations.USA stock futures edged lower, Asian equities slumped and European shares fluctuated amid investor concerns a heightened trade war will crimp corporate profits and undermine economic growth.