The US announced on March 22, 2018 that it will propose import tariffs amounting to US$50 billion on products from China as part of President Donald Trump’s effort to fight Beijing’s industrial policy that is meant to strengthen the country’s tech sector and long-standing imbalances in the bilateral trade and investment relationship. The tariffs would be levied on products in key areas identified by Beijing’s “Made in China 2025” initiative, including “next-generation information technology”, electronics, robotics, aviation and aerospace products, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro told reporters on a conference call. US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer will seek input from other government agencies on a list of about 1,300 varieties of products from China for final approval and the punitive tariffs would go into effect after a notice and comment period. Reacting to the announcement, the Dow Jones industrial average closed 724 points down as the Nasdaq Composite and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index also nose-dived on March 22, 2018.
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