US President Donald Trump may impose tariffs on imports from China as soon as next week, said Radio Free Asia. The US president had earlier threatened to impose 10 per cent tariff on Chinese products on his very first day in office although he didn't do that. During his presidential campaign, Trump had said that he would impose tariff as high as sixty per cent. Radio Free Asia has reported that Trump is likely to impose tariffs on Chinese goods.
On his first day in office, Trump signed series of executive orders, but those did not include any on tariff imposition on China.
On Tuesday (January 21) when Trump announced USD 500 billion Stargate project he said during his same address he spoke about 10 per cent tariff on Chinese products.
"We're talking about a tariff of 10 per cent on China based on the fact that they're sending fentanyl to Mexico and Canada," he said.
Radio Free Asia reported that Trump discussed the Fentanyl issue with Chinese President Xi Jinping on a phone call on Friday.
Flow of Fentanyl pre-cursors from China has been a topic of concern for former US president Joe Biden as well.
Xi Jinping's pledge to crack down on exports of Fentanyl precursors was one of the main outcomes of a summit between Biden and the Chinese president in 2023.
In months after the summit, Biden administration largely said that there was progress from the Chinese side. But Trump has deemed this insufficient.