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Opposition to $50 Billion in Tariffs

Trump has vacillated in recent weeks on how hard to push Beijing over issues such as tariffs and intellectual property. The dispute began in March, when his administration threatened to slap tariffs on as much as $50 billion in Chinese shipments to punish Beijing for violating American intellectual property rights.

After Beijing promised to retaliate in kind to any duties, the president upped the ante to slap tariffs on an additional $100 billion in Chinese goods. However, the U.S. has yet to publish a list of target products for the $100 billion, and the White House statement on Tuesday made no reference to the second potential tranche of duties.

The U.S. tariff threat has been widely opposed by industry leaders and some members of Congress, who warn the duties could end up raising costs for American consumers, devastating farmers, and hurting other exporters if China proceeds with retaliatory duties.

“Conflicting messages coming from the administration [are] causing whiplash for American companies that are focused on growing the economy and creating jobs here at home,” the Virginia-based Retail Industry Leaders Association said in an emailed statement. “We support the administration's decision to hold China accountable for their bad behavior. But retailers strongly believe igniting a global trade war will cause casualties.”

U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Donohue, in an emailed statement, said: “We continue to believe that the use of tariffs puts all the burden on American companies and consumers.”

Trump is also under pressure from Congress to stay tough on China, especially Chinese telecoms-equipment maker ZTE Corp. Last week, the president said he would allow ZTE to stay in business after it pays a $1.3 billion fine, shakes up its management, and provides “high-level security guarantees.”

China pressed the U.S. to give ZTE a break after the Commerce Department cut off the company from U.S. suppliers to punish it for allegedly lying to American officials in a sanctions case. Republican Senator Marco Rubio and other lawmakers from both parties have criticized Trump's leniency toward ZTE, arguing that doing business with the company presents a risk to national security.

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Pressure to 'Stick With It'

Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer, who has previously praised Trump's tariff plan, urged the president to be “strong, tough, and consistent” in addressing China's trade policies.

The White House outline for imposing the tariffs announced on Tuesday “represents the kind of actions we have needed to take for a long time,” Schumer said in an emailed statement. “But the president must stick with it and not bargain it away.”

When Trump announced the initial plan to impose tariffs, he also instructed the Treasury Department to draw up new curbs on investments in the United States by Chinese companies. The Treasury has presented its findings to the president, but its conclusions haven't been made public.

The latest signal from the White House sounds like the more hawkish wing of Trump's trade team is trying to amplify its hard line, after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said this month that any talk of a trade war was suspended for now.

“Mnuchin's 'trade war on hold' comments look to have been repudiated this morning, and possibly his investment stance, too,” said Derek Scissors, a China analyst at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington. “It may be the administration has shifted somewhat to appease the Congress on the lifting of the ZTE sanctions.”

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WTO Case

The White House also said on Tuesday the U.S. plans to continue litigation at the World Trade Organization (WTO) for China's intellectual-property practices.

In a further indication of the Trump administration striking a tougher tone before the negotiations later this week, the White House issued a separate statement running through its major grievances over China's trade practices from forced technology transfers to automobile import tariffs.

“President Trump has taken long-overdue action to finally address the source of the problem, China's unfair trade practices that hurt America's workers and our innovative industries,” according to the statement.

From: Bloomberg