Just a week after saying it would suspend the imposition of an additional 25 percent tariff on $50 billion worth of imports from China, the Trump administration has announced plans to move ahead on this and other measures in response to a Section 301 investigation concluding that Beijing is coercing U.S. companies into transferring their technology and intellectual property to Chinese enterprises.
According to a statement from the White House, the final list of imports from China on which the additional tariffs will be imposed will be announced by June 15 and the tariffs will take effect shortly thereafter. The preliminary list included more than 1,300 products.
Further, the U.S. will announce by June 30 and implement shortly thereafter specific investment restrictions and enhanced export controls for Chinese persons and entities related to the acquisition of industrially significant technology. The U.S. will also continue to pursue a World Trade Organization case filed March 23 alleging that China has violated the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights based on its “discriminatory practices for licensing intellectual property.”