Trump threatened to impose 10% tariff on Chinese goods

US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 10% tariff on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, escalating a tit-for-tat trade war with Beijing.

In a statement, Mr Trump said he had asked the US trade representative to identify the Chinese products to be subject to the new tariffs.

He said the move would be in retaliation for China's decision to raise tariffs on $50 billion in US goods.

"After the legal process is complete, these tariffs will go into effect if China refuses to change its practices, and also if it insists on going forward with the new tariffs that it has recently announced," Mr Trump said.

Washington and Beijing appeared increasingly headed toward open trade conflict after negotiations failed to resolve US complaints over Chinese industrial policies, lack of market access in China and a $375 billion US trade deficit.

On Friday, Mr Trump said he was pushing ahead with a 25% tariff on $50 billion worth of Chinese products, prompting Beijing to respond in kind.

The Chinese response clearly angered Mr Trump.

"China apparently has no intention of changing its unfair practices related to the acquisition of American intellectual property and technology. Rather than altering those practices, it is now threatening United States companies, workers, and farmers who have done nothing wrong," he said.

Mr Trump said if China increases its tariffs again in response to the latest US move, "we will meet that action by pursuing additional tariffs on another $200 billion of goods".

China has described Mr Trump's threat to impose 10% tariffs on $200 billion of worth of Chinese goods as "blackmail" and warned it was prepared to take countermeasures if Washington goes through with them.

The US "practice of extreme pressure and blackmail departed from the consensus reached by both sides during multiple negotiations and has also greatly disappointed international society", China's commerce ministry said in a statement on its website.

"If the US acts irrationally and issues a list, China will have no choice but to take comprehensive measures of a corresponding number and quality and take strong, powerful countermeasures."

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