CHINA/NORTH KOREA/TARIFFS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration, deepening its global trade offensive, is preparing to levy tariffs on tens of billions of dollars of Chinese goods in the coming week, perhaps as early as Friday [6-15-18]—a move that is likely to spark heavy retaliation from Beijing. Senior trade officials in the White House, the Commerce and Treasury departments and the U.S. Trade Representative’s office met on the issue before President Donald Trump went to a summit of the Group of Seven industrialized nations in Canada on Friday—and agreed that the U.S. should proceed, said U.S. officials and others briefed on the talks. Mr. Trump hasn’t given his final approval and could have second-thoughts about applying heavy pressure on China, the officials said, particularly because the U.S. wants Beijing’s cooperation in its efforts to get North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons. Mr. Trump returned to Washington on Wednesday morning after meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore. The administration initially planned tariffs on $50 billion in goods, but the total could change as the list is refined, with some products taken off and others added following a public comment period.”
-Bob Davis and Lingling Wei, “U.S. Prepares to Proceed With Tariffs on Chinese Goods,” The Wall Street Journal, June 13, 2018 3:57 pm