New Tariffs Show Trump’s Determination to Squeeze China Over Trade

WASHINGTON—Confidence about the U.S. economy has emboldened President Donald Trump to take a tougher stance on China, raising tariffs on May 10 to span $200 billion worth of Chinese imports. Trump in a May 13 series of tweets warned, “China will be hurt very badly if you don’t make a deal.”

Tensions escalated between the United States and China the week of May 6 as Beijing backtracked on delivering key structural reforms and Trump raised tariffs on Chinese imports. A two-day meeting on May 9 and 10 between the U.S. and Chinese delegates in Washington yielded no trade agreement amid the rising dispute.

The Chinese Finance Ministry announced on May 13 that Beijing would raise tariffs on $60 billion in U.S. goods in retaliation for Trump’s decision to raise duties on $200 billion in Chinese products to 25 percent from 10 percent.

In a series of tweets, Trump accused China of backing out from “a great” and “almost completed” deal.