US President Donald Trump accuses China, Russia of devaluing currencies

Trump said both the nations are devaluing their currencies at a time when the US is increasing interest rates and this was not accepted by his government.

"Russia and China are playing the Currency Devaluation game as the U.S. keeps raising interest rates. Not acceptable!," Trump tweeted.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) recently published a proposed list of products imported from China that could be subject to additional tariffs.

Following USTR’s Section 301 investigation, Trump announced in March that the United States will impose tariffs on approximately $50 billion worth of Chinese imports and take other actions in response to Beijing’s policies that 'coerce American companies into transferring their technology and intellectual property to domestic Chinese enterprises'.

"These policies bolster China’s stated intention of seizing economic leadership in advanced technology as set forth in its industrial plans, such as 'Made in China 2025'," said a statement issued by the US Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

The USTR said the proposed list of products is based on extensive interagency economic analysis and would target products that benefit from China’s industrial plans while minimizing the impact on the U.S. economy. 

Sectors subject to the proposed tariffs include industries such as aerospace, information and communication technology, robotics, and machinery.

The proposed list covers approximately 1,300 separate tariff lines and will undergo further review in a public notice and comment process, including a hearing. After completion of this process, USTR will issue a final determination on the products subject to the additional duties.

"The total value of imports subject to the tariff increase is commensurate with an economic analysis of the harm caused by China’s unreasonable technology transfer policies to the U.S. economy, as covered by USTR’s Section 301 investigation," the USTR said in its statement.

The latest announcement was made just days after the USTR filed a request for consultations with China at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to address Beijing’s technology licensing requirements. 

"Such consultations are the first step in the WTO dispute settlement process. If the United States and China are unable to reach a solution through consultations, the United States may request the establishment of a WTO dispute settlement panel to review the matter," said the statement.

In a major development that can further escalate trade war between the two nations, China has suspended tariff concessions on 128 items of U.S. products including pork and fruits, media reports said.

The Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council has decided to impose a tariff of 15 percent on 120 items of products imported from the United States including fruits and related products, and a tariff of 25 percent on eight items of imports including pork and related products from the country, Xinhua news agency of China reported quoting a statement posted on the country Ministry of Finance website.

"The statement said it was a countermeasure in response to a previous U.S. move to slap tariffs on steel and aluminum imports," read the Xinhua report.

Alleging years of intellectual property theft by China, the White House announced last month that it is planning to impose tariffs on Chinese imports.

Defending his trade policies, US President Donald Trump had tweeted last month: "When a country (USA) is losing many billions of dollars on trade with virtually every country it does business with, trade wars are good, and easy to win. Example, when we are down $100 billion with a certain country and they get cute, don’t trade anymore-we win big. It’s easy!"

Image: DOnald Trump Facebook page