Trump's tariffs on Chinese goods may rise to 25%, China decries 'blackmail'

When it comes to coaxing China back to the trade negotiation table, the Trump administration is favouring the stick over the carrot.

And China is tired of it.

The additional levies that President Donald Trump has threatened on $200 billion of Chinese goods may rise to 25 per cent from 10 per cent, Jenny Leonard and Jennifer Jacobs report.

The US imposed 25 per cent tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese products in early July, and the review period on another $16 billion of imports ends on Wednesday.

The latest effort to ratchet up the pressure on Beijing comes as representatives of US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He work behind the scenes on restarting talks that stalled nearly two months ago. In a sign the standoff is reverberating in China, the Politburo signaled on Tuesday that policy makers will focus more on supporting economic growth and noted “blackmailing and pressuring” will never work.

US is trying to secure certain concess-ions and if China agrees, it’s possible Trump would back off additional tariffs a source said.