CHINA/TARIFFS/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/WTO: “President Trump defended his pugnacious approach to trade policy on Friday [4-6-18], just hours after he doubled down on a White House plan to punish China by threatening to levy tariffs on an additional $100 billion in Chinese imports…But the United States has said it will take its complaint about Chinese trade practices, including the tactics it uses to gain access to American intellectual property, to the global body as part of the sweeping trade action the White House announced last month. That White House investigation found that China cheats the United States out of $50 billion annually through pressure and other coercive measures aimed at gaining access to American technology. Mr. Trump also defended his surprise announcement Thursday [4-5-18] night that the United States would consider an additional $100 billion in tariffs on China, a total that would triple an earlier trade threat. The president re-upped a tweet from Wednesday [4-4-18] that maintained the tariff threats did not amount to a trade war with China.”
-Ana Swanson and Eileen Sullivan, “White House Defends Trade Policies as Trump Aims New Threat at China,” The New York Times online, April 6, 2018