WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has ordered trade officials to begin the process of raising tariffs on almost all remaining imports from China, valued at US$300 billion, after trade talks between the United States and China ended on Friday with neither a deal nor an end to tariffs in sight.

The upcoming tariffs come on the heels of Friday morning’s tariff hike, which raised levies on US$200 billion of Chinese goods from 10 per cent to 25 per cent.

If the Trump administration proceeds, nearly all Chinese exports to the US – valued at nearly US$540 billion last year – will be subject to punitive tariffs.

The announcement, made by US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in a statement on Friday evening, dramatically ramps up pressure on the Chinese to reach an agreement with Washington.

US negotiators have told their Chinese counterparts that Beijing had three to four weeks to reach an agreement before the Trump administration introduces the new tariffs on essentially all remaining untaxed Chinese imports, said a Bloomberg report citing two people familiar with the talks.

But President Donald Trump struck an upbeat note on Twitter, calling the two days of talks “candid and constructive”.

Conversations will continue into the future, said Mr Trump, who added that his relationship with Chinese president Xi Jinping remained very strong.

“In the meantime, the United States has imposed tariffs on China, which may or may not be removed depending on what happens with respect to future negotiations,” he said.

Friday’s talks were short and ended by noon. Chinese vice-premier and lead negotiator Liu He will head back to Beijing, which has vowed retaliation against the latest round of US tariffs.

After the meetings, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told reporters that discussions had been constructive while Mr Liu said the talks had gone fairly well.

But no further talks have been planned as of now, said Mr Mnuchin.

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