US focuses on China's high-tech products with $50 billion in tariffs

The United States on Tuesday proposed imposing tariffs on 1,300 Chinese-made products worth about $50 billion, focusing on high tech products while seeking to minimize the impact on US consumers, according to Bloomberg.

"This level is appropriate both in light of the estimated harm to the US economy, and to obtain elimination of China's harmful acts, policies and practices," the US Trade Representative's office said in a statement. The list covers about 1,300 tariff lines, the USTR said, referring to a system of codes used to categorize products.

Investors and businesses have been awaiting details of President Donald Trump's plan to place tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese goods. US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer had until April 6 to publish a list of proposed products. There's a 60-day period when the public can provide feedback and the government holds hearings on the tariffs.

Tensions between China and the US have escalated dramatically lately following the US Section 232 tariffs and the signing of a presidential memorandum by Trump on March 22 to impose tariffs on up to $50 billion imports from China and restrictions on Chinese investment in the US according to a Section 301 of US Trade Act of 1974 investigation into China's intellectual property policies and practices.

China has called for resolving the bilateral economic and trade disputes through dialogues and negotiations, but it has also vowed to take countermeasures to defend its legitimate rights and interests.