U.S. shale producers warn Chinese tariffs would hit energy exports

President Donald Trump, in an unexpectedly swift and sharp move, threatened to impose a 10 percent tariff on $200 billion of Chinese goods and Beijing warned it would retaliate.

It gave no details, but China's lopsided trade balance with the United States means Beijing doesn't import enough American goods to stick with its strategy of matching the scale of Trump's tariff increases.

Trump's announcement fueled fears that economic losses, limited so far to companies hit by US or Chinese tariff hikes, might spread if the dispute chills global trade.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 400 points, or 1.6 percent. -China trade dispute rattled the markets.

"Faced with this heightened intimidation from the U.S., China has no choice but to fight back with targeted and direct measures aimed at persuading the U.S.to back off, since it appears that any concessions it makes will not appease the Trump administration, which wants to suck the lifeblood from the Chinese economy", the paper said.

The broader S&P 500 index gained 4.73 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2.767.32 and the Nasdaq composite rose 55.93, or 0.7 percent, to 7,781.51, helped by solid gains in technology stocks.

"China apparently has no intention of changing its unfair practices related to the acquisition of American intellectual property and technology", Trump said in the statement.

"This practice of extreme pressure and blackmail deviates from the consensus reached by both parties on many occasions and is disappointing for the worldwide community", the Commerce Ministry said in a statement. He noted that China's Ministry of Commerce has already promised to retaliate with "comprehensive quantitative and qualitative measures" if the USA imposes more tariffs.

President Donald Trump claimed Tuesday that Canadians are smuggling goods across the border from the United States to avoid high Canadian tariffs.

"There was a story two days ago, in a major newspaper, talking about people living in Canada, coming into the United States, and smuggling things back into Canada because the tariffs are so massive", Trump said, apparently referring to an op-ed in the New York Post.

The 25% steel and 10% aluminum tariffs, in particular, have potentially wide-reaching consequences, as President Trump made the decision earlier this month not to extend exemptions for the European Union, Mexico and Canada. "Again and again the US has been provoking a trade war".

Analysts estimate that the full impact of all measures threatened by Trump could shave as much as half a percentage point off China's economic growth. Officials also drew up a second list of $16bn in chemical and energy products to hit with new tariffs, though China did not announce a date for imposing them.

Kim Hyo-sun tells us more.

"It is important to note here that the actions President Trump has taken are purely defensive in nature", Navarro said.

The move followed tariffs applied last week on $50 billion in Chinese imports to the US.

"I always say, "We have rebuilt China".

Wall Street has viewed the trade tensions with rising concern that they could strangle the economic growth achieved during Trump's watch.

Cook maintains an open line of communication with Trump, and The Times said he visited the White House last month.

But a top White House trade adviser denied knowledge of any iPhone trade exemption in a conference call with reporters on Tuesday, according to Bloomberg.