Donald Trump pulled the trigger on tariffs on billions of dollars worth of Chinese products. This is the first round of Trump's punitive action against China for allegedly stealing U.S. technology. Beijing retaliated by slapping duties on American products.
Trump vowed to impose levies on more than 1,000 Chinese products back in June. He said the tariffs would come in two phases.
The first round of tariffs applies to over 800 Chinese products. They range from robots, to aircraft parts, to automobiles. Taken together, the goods are worth some 34 billion dollars.
U.S. officials are using section 301 of the U.S. trade act to justify the 25 percent tariffs. It allows Washington to take unilateral action when it determines that a trading partner has engaged in unfair practices.
China in turn imposed 25 percent levies on more than 500 American products also worth about 34 billion dollars. They include soybeans and automobiles.
◆allegedly（真偽は不明だが）申し立てによると
◆retaliat報復する
◆slap（罰金などを）科す
◆vow誓う、公約する
◆levy徴税、課徴金
◆range及ぶ
◆unilateral一方的な
