Trump set to impose $50bn tariffs on Chinese goods

US President Donald Trump decided to impose $50bn tariffs on Chinese products despite warnings from some corners that it risked provoking a trade war.

A US official said on Thursday that Trump would unveil his detailed plans on Friday. The list of 800 products was reduced from the 1,300 products initially reported.

The administration official told Reuters that Trump was not going to make exceptions with China since it no longer believes that Beijing’s influence over North Korea is needed to communicate with the regime.

Chinese government diplomat Wang Yi said the country was ready to respond if Trump finally went ahead with his decision. They had previously warned they would answer with $50bn tariffs on US products such as cars, planes and soybeans.

“The first choice is cooperation and mutual benefit. The other choice is confrontation and mutual loss. China chooses the first. We hope the US side can also make the same wise choice. Of course, we have also made preparations to respond to the second kind of choice,” he said.

The tariffs come after US complaints of China’s trade deficit with the country. Both countries have engaged in negotiations that have involved the possibility of Beijing purchasing American commodities in a move to try and reduce the trade deficit problem.

The International Monetary Fund warned the Trump administration that new tariffs could undermine the global trading system and end up harming US economy.

Trump is facing commercial feuds with many of his traditional trade allies, such as Canada, Mexico and Europe.