Trump warns tariffs on $375bn more China goods ‘ready to go’

US President Donald Trump says tariffs on another $US267 billion ($375bn) in Chinese goods are ‘ready to go’.

US President Donald Trump speaks to the press aboard Air Force One on Friday. Picture: AFP

US President Donald Trump has said tariffs on another $US267 billion ($375bn) in Chinese goods are ‘ready to go’ and could be rolled out on short notice, reinforcing earlier threats and signalling no end in sight for the growing trade dispute.

Mr Trump said on the weekend the tariffs would be in addition to the tariffs on $US200bn in Chinese goods the administration had been preparing, which he said would “take place very soon, depending on what happens”.

“I hate to say this, but behind that there is another $US267bn ready to go on short notice if I want,” he added.

“That changes the equation.”

The White House has been gearing up to hit China with tariffs of 25 per cent on as much as $US200bn in Chinese goods, on top of the $US50bn of Chinese exports already facing 25 per cent levies.

Mr Trump’s latest threats echo comments he made in June, when he said the US would impose a third round of tariffs on another $US200bn in Chinese goods should Beijing retaliate to the tariffs imposed so far.

The Chinese have matched them dollar for dollar, and trade talks between Washington and Beijing have failed to produce any visible sign of progress.

If enacted, a third round of tariffs that covered an additional $US267bn of imports from China would bring the total amount of goods subject to tariffs to more than the $US505bn the US imported from China in 2017, according to the US Census Bureau.

The public comment period on the second, $US200bn round of tariffs ended last Thursday, the last step before a decision. A senior administration official told The Wall Street Journal that China tariffs “are coming”, but said the timing remained unclear.

Mr Trump later signalled that the timing of the $US200bn was not finalised, saying that it “could take place very soon depending on them — to a certain extent it depends on China”.

Meanwhile, China’s trade surplus with the US hit another record monthly high in August as the world’s second-largest economy faced the threat of more tariffs from the Trump administration.

China’s trade surplus with the US widened to $US31.05bn last month from $US28.09bn in July, while its total trade surplus narrowed, data from the General Administration of Customs showed.

The data came as Washington prepared to roll out a third round of tariffs, moving it closer toward imposing levies on virtually all Chinese goods entering the US.

A combination of factors, including a weaker Chinese yuan and exporters’ front-loading of shipments in anticipation of more tariffs, contributed to the worsening trade imbalance, said Liu Xuezhi, an economist with Bank of Communications.

“In the short term, it is difficult for the trade gap to narrow because American buyers cannot easily find alternatives to Chinese products,” Mr Liu said.

That suggested the trade dispute, which is escalating, won’t be resolved quickly, the Shanghai-based economist said.

The yuan slid nearly 9 per cent against the US dollar between April and July, but was little changed in August, according to Wind Information. Last month, China’s central bank stepped up its intervention in the market to prevent the yuan from depreciating too rapidly. A weaker yuan makes Chinese goods cheaper for US consumers.

China’s exports to the US rose 13.2 per cent in August from a year earlier, accelerating from an 11.2 per cent increase in July, according to calculations by The Wall Street Journal based on customs data.

China’s Commerce Ministry didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment about the proposed US tariffs. Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen said at a forum on Saturday that rising trade protectionism was threatening global economic growth, according to state media.

Mr Wang led mid-level talks with US officials in Washington last month, but discussions between the two countries failed to produce any visible sign of progress. Globally, China reported a trade surplus of $US27.91bn in August, narrowing from a surplus of $US28.05bn a month earlier.