Trump Announces Further Tariffs On China

US President Donald Trump has announced fresh tariffs on a further US$300 billion dollars worth of Chinese goods – just days after the first face-to-face trade talks between the two sides in months.

Trump said in announcing the new tariffs, which take effect on September 1, that the US was looking forward to continuing trade talks, but Beijing had broken its promises on some issues.

He tweeted: "Our representatives have just returned from China where they had constructive talks having to do with a future trade deal. We thought we had a deal with China three months ago, but sadly, China decided to re-negotiate the deal prior to signing. More recently, China agreed to buy agricultural product from the US in large quantities, but did not do so.

"Additionally, my friend President Xi [Jinping] said that he would stop the sale of Fentanyl to the United States – this never happened, and many Americans continue to die!"

Fentanyl is an opioid-based painkiller which has been cited as a major factor in an opioid addiction crisis in the US.

The Dow plunged into negative territory after Trump's tweets, quickly shedding more than 250 points within minutes.

US stocks had been comfortably higher a day after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the first time in a decade. (RTHK/AFP)