Donald Trump is to impose tariffs on about $50bn in imports from China in a move due to be announced on Friday that will bring the world’s two largest economies closer to a trade war.
The final decision, which the Trump administration claims is justified by Beijing’s longstanding theft of US companies’ intellectual property, came at a gathering of the president’s top White House trade advisers on Thursday, according to people briefed on the meeting’s outcome.
It sets the stage for a major escalation of trade hostilities between the two countries. It also follows Mr Trump’s decisions in recent weeks to begin levying tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from Canada, the EU and Japan, provoking a rift with G7 allies.