US could unveil new tariff list on China by next week - WSJ

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the US is going ahead with an expanded list of tariffs against China for a further $100 billion in duties on Chinese-made goods. The trade war escalation continues as the White House is confident its hard-nosed strategy is effective.

Key quotes:

The additional moves come as President Donald Trump has told his senior aides to investigate the possibility of joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a move that would reverse a Trump campaign promise and further challenge China, which isn’t part of the trade pact.

For its part, China is looking to line up other countries against the U.S., Chinese officials said—especially in Europe, whose companies could benefit should China react to the stepped up pressure by retaliating against the U.S. Beijing has already responded to early volleys from Washington in the trade conflict with retaliatory tariffs of its own.

Administration officials familiar with the U.S. strategy say that the U.S. trade representative, as early as next week, will detail which products are on the list of $100 billion in Chinese goods subject to 25% import tariffs. The initial hit list of $50 billion in Chinese imports didn’t include some consumer staples such as clothing, mobile phones or shoes, to minimize consumer impact and limit domestic criticism. But trade experts say the sheer size of the expansion of the hit list makes the inclusion of consumer goods inevitable.

Both sides are gearing up for a lengthy fight. When Mr. Trump announced the additional tariffs on $100 billion in goods on April 5, many trade experts dismissed it as simply talk. But officials said that it had been discussed earlier with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, among others.

To try to limit domestic opposition to its tough line, the administration now is working on a program, which could cost billions of dollars, to compensate farmers suffering from Chinese retaliatory tariffs on U.S. crops. Mr. Trump also said he would consider joining a reconstituted Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade group of 11 Pacific Rim nations, including Japan, which could give the U.S. additional leverage in any talks with China.