Trump Ready To Unveil New Tariffs On Chinese Goods

President Donald Trump on Friday was due to unveil a final list of Chinese imports that would face punishing tariffs but it remained uncertain whether he would hold fire as part of a negotiating strategy.

Imposing the tariffs would escalate the trade confrontation with Beijing, and potentially set off a round of tit-for-tat retaliation, which economists warn would damage the global economy.

The president's trade team, including senior officials from the Commerce and Treasury departments, were due to gather at the White House to finalise the list of Chinese goods on the hit list.

A report in the Wall Street Journal quoting sources close to the matter said evening the list had been approved and would affect about US$50 billion worth of goods, the same figure that was first announced in March.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged Washington to avoid a "lose-lose approach" on trade.

Trump has frequently reversed course, threatening and then backing away, or vice versa, but he has appeared determined to take a hard line with Beijing.

"What we're seeing here is a bargaining process in which the Trump team has found that by continuing to put pressure on China, the offers have become better and better," said Dennis Wilder, head of a Georgetown University program on US-China relations.

"My guess is that the Trump administration will announce but not implement. They want to give the Chinese a little more time," the former senior CIA official for East-Asia said.

Trade talks with Beijing have been subject to repeated about-faces and turmoil among US officials, which analysts say has left Chinese officials unsure of Trump's goals or which of the several senior emissaries from Trump's Cabinet actually has the power to seal a deal.

"I think the Chinese have been mystified by what the administration wants," said Nicholas Lardy, an expert on the Chinese economy at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

Analysts say the tens of billions of dollars in tariffs that Washington is preparing to levy on China amount to a pittance when compared to the size of the world's two largest economies – limiting their power to bend Beijing to Trump's will.

But others worry about the sign it sends, and the potential to damage the world economy. (AFP)