CHINA/TARIFFS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “China on Friday [8-2-19] threatened retaliation if U.S. President Donald Trump’s planned tariff hikes go ahead, while the renewed acrimony between the two biggest global economies sent stock markets tumbling. China’s government accused Trump of violating his June agreement with President Xi Jinping to revive negotiations aimed at ending a costly fight over Beijing’s trade surplus and technology ambitions. Trump rattled financial markets with Thursday’s [8-1-19] surprise announcement of 10% tariffs on $300 billion of Chinese imports, effective Sept. 1. That would extend punitive duties to everything the United States buys from China. If that goes ahead, ‘China will have to take necessary countermeasures to resolutely defend its core interests,’ said a foreign ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chuying.”
-Associated Press, “China threatens retaliation for Trump’s planned tariff hike,” Politico, August 2, 2019 7:07 am