US President Donald Trump has said he is considering imposing a 10% tariff on imports of Chinese-made goods as soon as 1 February.
Discussions with his administration were "based on the fact that they're sending fentanyl to Mexico and Canada", he said.
It followed threats by Trump to levy import taxes of 25% on Mexico and Canada, accusing them of allowing undocumented migrants and drugs to come into the US. On his first day in office, the new President also instructed federal agencies to conduct a review of existing trade deals and identify unfair practices by US trading partners.
During his election campaign, Trump has threatened to hit Chinese-made products with border taxes known as tariffs of up to 60%, but he held off on any immediate tariff action on his first day, instead ordering his administration to study the issue.
US goods imports from China have flattened since 2018, a statistic that economists have attributed in part to a series of escalating tariffs that Trump imposed during his first term.
That stand-off ended in 2020 when the two countries signed a deal.
At the time, Trump walked back some of his tariffs in exchange for commitments by China to purchase American agricultural and other products.
But US officials say China has not upheld its side of the agreement.
Speaking to Congress last week, Scott Bessent, whose confirmation as Treasury Secretary cleared a key hurdle on Tuesday, said he expected to push to enforce those agreements and raised the possibility of demanding "catch up" purchases as well. (BBC)
Addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Ding Xuexiang, Vice Premier of China, said his country was looking for a "win-win" solution to trade tensions and wanted to expand its imports.
He did not mention the US by name.
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