Donald Trump 'ready' to intensify trade war with China

US President Donald Trump has said he is ready to intensify his trade war with China by slapping tariffs on all imports worth 500 billion Im ready to go to 500 he told CNBCs Joe Kernen in a Squawk Box interview broadcasted on FridayThe reference was to the dollar amount of Chinese exports to the US in 2017 5055 billion to be exact compared to the 1299 billion worth of Chinese imports from the US according to the Census Bureau dataLast week Washington listed 200 billion worth of additional Chinese products it intends to place under the tariff regime on as soon as SeptemberThe list named more than 6000 items including food products minerals and consumer goods such as handbags to be subjected to a 10 per cent tariff It is still under public consultation that will go on till the end of AugustThe US and China already imposed titfortat tariffs of 34 billion on each others goodsIm not doing this for politics Im doing this to do the right thing for our country Trump said We have been ripped off by China for a long timeThe President said the US was being taken advantage of on a number of fronts including trade and monetary policy Yet he said he has not pushed the tariffs out of any ill will towards ChinaI dont want them to be scared I want them to do well he said I really like President Xi Jinping a lot but it was very unfairTrump also said he was told by unspecified Chinese officials that nobody would ever complain from past administrations until you came along me They said Now youre more than complaining We dont like what youre doingThe US also wants China to stop practices that allegedly encourage the transfer of intellectual property design and product ideas to Chinese companies such as requirements that foreign firms share ownership with local partners to access the Chinese marketTrump previously hinted at such an escalation telling reporters two weeks ago that there was 300 billion in abeyance after the 200 billion of goods covered by the latest list but this is his most explicit threat yetMany companies in the US are opposed to the administrations use of tariffs against China saying they risk hurting business and the economy without being likely to change behaviourEuropean stock markets fell after the interview was broadcast with the FTSE 100 down 02 per centCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Except for the change in the headline the story has been provided ASIS AS AVAILABLE without any verification or editing from our side Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever