Washington sources reported that President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he would proceed with tariffs on $50 billion (roughly Rs. 3,37,000, crores) in Chinese imports and introduce new limits on Chinese investment in U.S. high-tech industries as part of a broad campaign to crack down on Chinese acquisition of U.S. technology.
Accordingly the moves, less than 10 days after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the trade war with China was "on hold," appear designed to create bargaining leverage for Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who is due to arrive in Beijing on Saturday for talks aimed at cooling trade tensions.
Further the sudden policy shifts are amplifying an air of unpredictability
that the president has said gives him an edge at the bargaining table, even as
U.S. trading partners complain that it erodes American credibility. Moreover adding
to the confusion are divisions among Trump's trade advisers and complaints from
members of Congress, who fear that the president may be stumbling into a costly
multi-front trade war.