X-rays, soy on front lines of U.S.-China trade spa
By Joe McDonald
AP Business Writer
BEIJING — President Donald Trump is hiking the price of Chinese-made forklift trucks and X-ray machines for American buyers.
They are part of a $50 billion list of Chinese exports targeted for a 25 percent tariff hike in response to complaints Beijing steals or pressures foreign companies to hand over technology.
The list of 1,102 products issued Friday includes 818 remaining from a tentative list of 1,333 released in April. The U.S. government also released a second list of 284 additional products it said were being considered for tariffs.
It is the first direct impact on American consumers of the dispute over a state-led technology development strategy the White House says violates Beijing’s free-trade commitments and hurts foreign competitors.
More than a routine trade dispute, it reflects Washington’s unease that American technology leadership and prosperity might be eroded by China’s state-led efforts to com ete in smartphones, electric cars, biotech and other fields.