On Monday, May 13 the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) announced its intention to raise tariffs on $60 billion of U.S. origin goods to 20-25 percent, up from 10 percent. The tariff increase is in response to U.S. President Donald Trump decision to raise tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods from 10 to 25 percent. This tariff leveraging follows an apparent break-down in bilateral talks after negotiations last week between U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Secretary of Treasury Steve Mnuchin and China’s lead negotiator Liu He. Over the past year the U.S. and China have been locked in a cycle of negotiations and tariff retaliation following the announcement by the U.S. of tariffs on Chinese goods in response to China’s intellectual property practices.  

A copy of the MOFCOM announcement can be found here.