Donald Trump is planning to impose $50 billion (£38 billion) worth of tariffs on Chinese goods.
The US President will introduce 25 percent tariffs on Chinese industrial and high-tech goods, sparking fears of a trade war between the countries.
Trump is expected to approve the tariffs on Friday and said they are being implemented because of “China’s theft of intellectual property and technology and its other unfair trade practices”.
“The United States can no longer tolerate losing our technology and intellectual property through unfair economic practices,” he said on Friday.
“In addition, they will serve as an initial step toward bringing balance to the trade relationship between the US and China.”
“The US will pursue additional tariffs if China engages in retaliatory measures, such as imposing new tariffs on US goods, services, or agricultural products; raising non-tariff barriers; or taking punitive actions against American exporters or American companies operating in China.”
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang has responded to Trump’s plans and has said that if the tariffs go ahead, all previous trade talks between China and the US will be void.
“If the US takes unilateral and protectionist measures that harm Chinese interests, we will respond immediately by taking the necessary decisions to safeguard our legitimate rights and interests,” he said.
“Our position is still the same.”
Trump’s plans to introduce tariffs of $50 billion are to stop China from allegedly encouraging the transfer of intellectual property to Chinese companies.
“We must take strong defensive actions to protect America’s leadership in technology and innovation against the unprecedented threat posed by China’s theft of our intellectual property, the forced transfer of American technology, and its cyber attacks on our computer networks,” said Robert Lighthizer, a US ambassador.
“Trump rightfully recognises that if we want our country to have a prosperous future, we must take a stand now to uphold fair trade and protect American competitiveness,” he added.
As Trump unveiled his plans, the FTSE 100 fell almost one percent to 7,699 points.