MOSCOW: Former US President Donald Trump discussed with his advisers the possibility of imposing a 60 per cent tariff on all imports from China if he is re-elected, reported Sputnik quoting a Washington Post reported on Sunday, citing sources.
The former president is considering options for starting a new large-scale economic attack on China if he returns to the White House, which, according to the report, could lead to a global trade war.
Experts asked by the newspaper said that such a move could lead to enormous disruption to both the US and global economies, which would be much more serious than the impact of the trade wars of Trump’s first term.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to Washington Post’s request for comments.
The United States currently has a 25 per cent tariff on US$300 billion worth of Chinese imports.
Relations between Washington and Beijing have significantly deteriorated under the Trump administration, which started a trade war with China.
Under incumbent US President Joe Biden, the situation did not improve, as a number of incidents, including a visit to Taiwan by then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the destruction of a Chinese balloon in US airspace, led to a new round of diplomatic confrontation.
Recently, the Biden administration has taken some steps to normalise relations, in particular, senior US and Chinese officials held several meetings, but full rapport between Washington and Beijing was not achieved. – Bernama, Sputnik
