In Round 2 of trade war, US plans 10% tariffs on $200-bn Chinese goods

The United States on Tuesday announced it was starting the process to slap 10 per cent tariffs on another $200 billion in Chinese export goods as soon as September, escalating the trade war between the world's two largest economies.

President Donald Trump vowed to hit back on a growing list of products after China retaliated in kind for the first round of 25 per cent tariffs on $34 billion worth of imports that Washington imposed last week.

If he goes ahead it would mean thousands of products from fish to chemicals, metals and tires would face new taxes.

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said Washington did a thorough investigation to justify imposing tariffs on $50 billion worth of imports to compensate for the harm to the US economy caused by China's unfair trading practices, including theft or forced transfer of American technology.