Trump Says Tariffs on Another $267 Billion in Chinese Imports 'Ready to Go'

China is a bigger problem than Canada, President Donald Trump told reporters Sept. 7 on Air Force One, and said he has tariffs ready to go on all the other Chinese products that have not faced additional tariffs in the trade war thus far. "Nobody has ever done what I’ve done. The $200 billion we’re talking about, could take place very soon, depending what happens with them," he said, referring to the third tranche of Chinese goods subject to Section 301 tariffs (see 1807110050), whose comment period ended Sept. 6. "And I hate to say that, but behind that, there’s another $267 billion ready to go on short notice, if I want. That totally changes the equation," he said, according to various media reports.

Trump also talked about negotiations with Canada on NAFTA, which continued in Washington that day. "People have been saying I’m too tough on Canada. Look, Canada has been ripping us off for a long time. Now, they’ve got to treat us fairly. I don’t want to do anything bad to Canada. I can, all I have to do is tax their cars, it would be devastating. If I tax cars coming in from Canada, it would be devastating. I do use that as leverage in negotiating, where they don’t want to give us some points, I say, that’s OK, I’d rather tax your cars coming in, and I win a lot of points because of it."