Vehicles, information technology, healthcare, and aerospace will be targeted by tariffs on $50 billion worth of products from China, the Trump administration said Tuesday.
The U.S. Trade Representative’s Office released the official list of products that the administration proposes to hit with tariffs. The list covers a vast number of items, including vehicles and all manner of mechanical devices. Together, the proposed tariffs would hit about $50 billion worth of imports, the administration said.
“The proposed list of products is based on extensive interagency economic analysis and would target products that benefit from China’s industrial plans while minimizing the impact on the U.S. economy. Sectors subject to the proposed tariffs include industries such as aerospace, information and communication technology, robotics, and machinery,” the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office said.
The list isn’t final. It will have to undergo a public comment period, and the USTR will have to hold a public hearing. The administration did not give a time frame for when it expected to make a final announcement.
President Trump announced the tariffs last month, citing section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. The administration says it has “strong evidence” that China uses foreign ownership restrictions such as joint venture requirements and foreign equity limitations to coerce U.S. companies into giving it technology. Administration officials have estimated the U.S. losses to China at about $30 billion annually.
“Our view is that we have a very serious problem of losing our intellectual property, which is really the single biggest advantage of the American economy…. We are losing that to China in ways that is not reflective of the underlying economics,” Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told a congressional hearing last month.
China responded by announcing retaliatory tariffs Monday of up to 25 percent on $3 billion in U.S. goods, ranging from agricultural products such as fruit and pork, to industrial ones like steel pipes.
Tuesday’s announcement comes just days after the administration filed an official complaint with the World Trade Organization against China charging that it was breaking WTO rules by denying foreign patent holders, including U.S. companies, basic patent rights.
Tuesday’s list from the USTR was extensive, including iron, steel and aluminum, a wide variety of manufacturing and industrial devices, smaller mechanical components likes ball bearings and fuses, and vehicles such as helicopters, boats, and diesel-powered trucks. Pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and medical devices such as x-rays were included, as were video equipment such as televisions and monitors.
Business groups such as the Chamber of Commerce have urged the administration to back down, arguing the harm will outweigh any benefits to U.S. companies.
