Trump announces new tariffs on steel, aluminum amid U.S.-China trade war

Thank you for joining us. I'm Yoon Jung-min.

We start with U.S. President Donald Trump announcing a blanket tariff of 25 percent on steel and aluminium imports into the U.S.

Park Kun-woo covers the trade war that looks to be intensifying.

The tariffs imposed by the U.S. are intensifying.

On Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump said he will announce plans for new 25 percent tariffs on all steel and aluminum shipments to the U.S.

He also said reciprocal tariffs for countries that impose tariffs on the U.S. will be revealed in the coming days and will take effect almost immediately.

"If they charge us, we charge them. If they are charging us 130%, and we're charging them nothing, it's not going to stand that way. Every country will be reciprocal."

This comes as the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China has intensified.

The U.S. implemented an additional 10 percent tariff on all Chinese imports to the U.S. starting last Tuesday.

In retaliation, China announced plans to impose tariffs of 10 to 15 percent on items, including coal, liquefied natural gas, and crude oil from the U.S., effective Monday.

As China previously expressed its intention to negotiate with the U.S., there had been an expectation that an agreement would be reached before actual implementation.

Last week, Trump also shared his intention to talk with China's President Xi Jinping but said he was in no hurry.

"I will speak to him at the appropriate time. I'm in no rush. The deficit with China is about a trillion dollars. Think of it. A trillion dollars. They're using our money to build their military, and Biden let that happen."

That's compared to when he delayed the implementation of additional tariffs on Canada and Mexico for a month after some discussions.

But as both the U.S. and China have expressed their intention to hold talks, pundits believe there is still a chance of reaching a consensus.

The two countries previously ended the trade war during the first Trump administration after 18 months, after China agreed to purchase more U.S. products, while the U.S. held off on imposing additional high tariffs on Chinese goods.

Park Kun-woo, Arirang News.