CHINA/TARIFFS/TRADE DEALS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration said on Friday [6-15-18] that it would move ahead with tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese products, drawing a vow of retaliation from Beijing and escalating a trade war between the world’s two largest economies. President Trump’s decision to impose the penalties is the latest twist by a White House that has vacillated between taking a tough stance on Chinese trade practices and declaring that the trade war was “on hold.” It comes after the president has ignited trade spats on numerous fronts, including levying tariffs on metal imported from allies and adversaries around the globe and sparring with Canada and Mexico over the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Tariffs of 25 percent on roughly $34 billion of Chinese products — drawn from a list that the administration published in April and vetted through a series of hearings in mid-May — will go into effect on July 6, the office of the United States Trade Representative said. The administration is also proposing tariffs on roughly $16 billion of new products, which it said would undergo further review, including public hearings.”
-Ana Swanson, “U.S. and China Expand Trade War as Beijing Vows to Match Trump’s Tariffs,” The New York Times online, June 15, 2018