President Trump to level new round of tariffs, investment restrictions against China

President Trump is expected to level a new round of “protective” tariffs and “investment restrictions” against China on Thursday, White House officials told Fox News.
Last August, the president instructed U.S. Trade Representative Amb. Robert Lighthizer to consider an investigation of Chinese laws, policies, and practices which may be harming American intellectual property rights, innovation, or technology development.” Lighthizer determined that an investigation was warranted, and it began under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.
“Tomorrow the president will announce the actions he has decided to take based on USTR’s 301 investigation into China’s state-led, market-distorting efforts to force, pressure and steal U.S. technologies and intellectual property,” White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah said in a statement Wednesday.
An administration official told Fox News on Wednesday that the tariffs, which could amount to $30 billion or more, are not meant to “punish” China, but rather designed to “recover damages” from China’s unfair trade practices.
The investment restrictions, on the other hand, are meant to blunt China’s attempts to “capture the technology businesses of the future.” The official told Fox News that China’s practice of taking over international technology companies—including those in the U.S.—distorts markets, and destroys the innovation cycle.
The 2017 Annual Report of the U.S.-China Committee recommended that the president “prohibit the acquisition of U.S. assets by Chinese state-owned or state-controlled entities, including sovereign wealth funds.”
An official told Fox News that the president is expected to follow along the recommendations of the committee.
A White House official said Wednesday that China has had a long time to address concerns raised by the U.S., dating back to the Clinton administration.
“We have given a great deal of thought to what they might do, and how they might react,” a USTR official said Wednesday. “And what the potential reaction could mean for us…it’s not as simple to say it’s a simple end game.”