WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Friday he was ordering U.S. companies to look at ways to close their operations in China and make more of their products in the United States instead, a rhetorical strike at Beijing as trade tensions mounted.

Trump cannot compel U.S. companies to abandon China and he gave no detail on how he might proceed with any such order, although he said he would be offering a response later on Friday to tariffs on U.S. products announced by China earlier in the day.

“Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China, including bringing your companies HOME and making your products in the USA,” Trump said on Twitter. “We don’t need China and, frankly, would be far better off without them.” </s> WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump declared Friday that he had “hereby ordered” American companies with operations in China “to immediately start looking for” an alternative after Beijing announced a series of retaliatory tariffs.

But as markets in the U.S., Asia and Europe tumbled, the White House offered no further details or explanation of Trump’s intentions.

Instead, the president tweeted that he would be “responding to China’s Tariffs this afternoon.”

“This is a GREAT opportunity for the United States” he wrote.

The U.S. has said it plans to impose 10% tariffs on $300 billion of Chinese goods in two steps, on Sept. 1 and Dec. 15. China responded Friday with new tariffs on $75 billion of U.S. products in retaliation, deepening a conflict over trade and technology that threatens to tip a weakening global economy into recession.

China also will increase import duties on U.S.-made autos and auto parts, the Finance Ministry announced. Tariffs of 10% and 5% will take effect on two batches of goods on Sept. 1 and Dec. 15, the ministry said in a statement. It gave no details of what goods would be affected but the timing matches Trump’s planned duty hikes.

The announcement comes as leaders of the Group of 7 major economies prepare to meet in France this weekend.

Washington is pressing Beijing to narrow its trade surplus and roll back plans for government-led creation of global competitors in robotics, electric cars and other technology industries.

On Friday, Trump tweeted, “Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China, including bringing… your companies HOME and making your products in the USA. I will be responding to China’s Tariffs this afternoon.”

The White House did not immediately respond to questions about what authority the president believes he has to order private companies to change their business practices. And it remained unclear hours after his tweets exactly what he had in mind.

Trump was meeting Friday morning with his trade advisers, according to two people with knowledge of the situation. They were discussing various potential options, including the possibility of imposing a 25% tariff on all Chinese exports to America, one of the people said. They spoke to AP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose details of closed-door meetings.

Peter Navarro, who advises Trump on trade policy, tried to downplay the impact of Chinese tariff hikes ahead of the meeting. He said they were “well anticipated” and would only strengthen Trump’s resolve.

China’s government appealed to Trump this week to compromise in order to reach a settlement.

That came after Trump warned that the American public might need to endure economic pain in order to achieve long-term results.

The United States, Europe, Japan and other trading partners say Beijing’s development plans violate its market-opening commitments and are based on stealing or pressuring foreign companies to hand over technology. Some American officials worry they might erode U.S. industrial leadership.

Chinese leaders have offered to alter details but are resisting giving up a development strategy they see as a path to prosperity and global influence.

The talks are deadlocked over how to enforce any deal. China insists Trump’s punitive tariffs have to be lifted as soon as an agreement takes effect. Washington says at least some have to stay to ensure Beijing carries out any promises it makes.

Trump announced plans to raise tariffs Sept. 1 on $300 billion of Chinese products after talks broke down in May. Increases on some goods were postponed to Dec. 15.

Trump escalated “trade frictions” and is “seriously threatening the multilateral trading system,” the China’s Finance Ministry said. “China was forced to take countermeasures.”

A separate statement said tariffs of 25% and 5% would be imposed on U.S.-made autos and auto parts on Dec. 15. Beijing announced that increase last year but suspended it after Trump and his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping, agreed at a meeting in December in Argentina to put off further trade action while they negotiated.

Trump and Xi agreed in June to resume negotiations. But talks in Shanghai in July ended with no indication of progress. Negotiators talked by phone this month and are due to meet again in Washington next month.

BMW, Tesla, Ford and Mercedes Benz are likely to be the hardest hit by the Chinese auto tariffs. In 2018, BMW exported about 87,000 luxury SUVs to China from a plant near Spartanburg, S.C. It exports more vehicles to China than any other U.S. auto plant.

Together, Ford, BMW, Mercedes and others exported about 164,000 vehicles to China from the U.S. in 2018, according to the Center for Automotive Research, a think tank in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Most of them are luxury cars and SUVs with higher profit margins that can cover higher U.S. wages. The exports are down from about 262,000 in 2017.

Tesla, which is building a plant in China, last year got about 12% of its revenue by exporting about 14,300 electric cars and SUVs from California to China, according to Barclays. Most of Ford’s exports are from the Lincoln luxury brand, but most of the vehicles it sells in China are made in joint venture factories.

Trump already has imposed 25% tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese products. Beijing retaliated by imposing its own penalties on $110 billion of American goods. But their lopsided trade balance meant China was running out of imports for retaliation.

Friday’s announcement, if it applied to goods not already affected by Chinese penalties, would extend tariff hikes to everything China imports from the United States. That would match Trump’s hikes, which cover almost all of what Americans buy from China.

McDonald reported from Beijing. Associated Press writers Tom Krisher in Detroit and Deb Riechmann in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report. </s> BEIJING, China — President Donald Trump on Friday called on U.S. companies with operations in China to consider an alternative place to do business after Beijing announced a series of retaliatory tariffs Friday.

"I will be responding to China's Tariffs this afternoon," Trump tweeted. "This is a GREAT opportunity for the United States."

U.S. markets tumbled, as did markets in Asia and Europe.

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The U.S. has said it plans to impose 10% tariffs on $300 billion of Chinese goods in two steps, on Sept. 1 and Dec. 15. China on Friday announced new tariffs on $75 billion of U.S. products in retaliation for those tariffs, deepening a conflict over trade and technology that threatens to tip a weakening global economy into recession.

China also will increase import duties on U.S.-made autos and auto parts, the Finance Ministry announced.

The announcement comes as leaders of the Group of 7 major economies prepare to meet in France this weekend.

Tariffs of 10% and 5% will take effect on two batches of goods on Sept. 1 and Dec. 15, the ministry said in a statement. It gave no details of what goods would be affected but the timing matches Trump's planned duty hikes.

Washington is pressing Beijing to narrow its trade surplus and roll back plans for government-led creation of global competitors in robotics, electric cars and other technology industries.

On Friday, Trump tweeted, "Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China, including bringing your companies HOME and making your products in the USA. I will be responding to China's Tariffs this afternoon."

The White House did not immediately respond to questions about what authority the president believes he has to order private companies to change their business practices.

The spiraling conflict has battered exporters on both sides and fueled concern it might drag down weakening global economic growth.

Peter Navarro, who advises Trump on trade policy, tried to downplay the impact of Chinese tariff hikes. He said they were "well anticipated" and would only strengthen Trump's resolve.

China's government appealed to Trump this week to compromise in order to reach a settlement.

That came after Trump warned that the American public might need to endure economic pain in order to achieve long-term results.

The United States, Europe, Japan and other trading partners say Beijing's development plans violate its market-opening commitments and are based on stealing or pressuring foreign companies to hand over technology.

Some American officials worry they might erode U.S. industrial leadership.

Chinese leaders have offered to alter details but are resisting giving up a development strategy they see as a path to prosperity and global influence.

The talks are deadlocked over how to enforce any deal. China insists Trump's punitive tariffs have to be lifted as soon as an agreement takes effect. Washington says at least some have to stay to ensure Beijing carries out any promises it makes.

Trump announced plans to raise tariffs Sept. 1 on $300 billion of Chinese products after talks broke down in May. Increases on some goods were postponed to Dec. 15.

Trump escalated "trade frictions" and is "seriously threatening the multilateral trading system," the Finance Ministry said. "China was forced to take countermeasures."

A separate statement said tariffs of 25% and 5% would be imposed on U.S.-made autos and auto parts on Dec. 15. Beijing announced that increase last year but suspended it after Trump and his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping, agreed at a meeting in December in Argentina to put off further trade action while they negotiated.

Trump and Xi agreed in June to resume negotiations. But talks in Shanghai in July ended with no indication of progress. Negotiators talked by phone this month and are due to meet again in Washington next month.

BMW, Tesla, Ford and Mercedes Benz are likely to be the hardest hit by the Chinese auto tariffs. In 2018, BMW exported about 87,000 luxury SUVs to China from a plant near Spartanburg, S.C. It exports more vehicles to China than any other U.S. auto plant.

Together, Ford, BMW, Mercedes and others exported about 164,000 vehicles to China from the U.S. in 2018, according to the Center for Automotive Research, a think tank in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Most of them are luxury cars and SUVs with higher profit margins that can cover higher U.S. wages. The exports are down from about 262,000 in 2017.

Tesla, which is building a plant in China, last year got about 12% of its revenue by exporting about 14,300 electric cars and SUVs from California to China, according to Barclays. Most of Ford's exports are from the Lincoln luxury brand, but most of the vehicles it sells in China are made in joint venture factories.

Trump already has imposed 25% tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese products. Beijing retaliated by imposing its own penalties on $110 billion of American goods. But their lopsided trade balance meant China was running out of imports for retaliation.

Friday's announcement, if it applied to goods not already affected by Chinese penalties, would extend tariff hikes to everything China imports from the United States. That would match Trump's hikes, which cover almost all of what Americans buy from China.

Associated Press writers Tom Krisher in Detroit and Deb Riechmann in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report. </s> WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said on Friday he was ordering US companies to look at ways to close their operations in China and make more of their products in the United States instead, a rhetorical strike at Beijing as trade tensions mounted.Trump cannot legally compel US companies to abandon China immediately and he gave no detail on how he might proceed with any such order, although he said he would be offering a response later on Friday to tariffs on American products announced by China earlier in the day.The US dollar rose sharply against the Chinese yuan, US stock markets fell and oil prices dropped on Trump's latest salvo against China."Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China, including bringing your companies HOME and making your products in the USA," Trump wrote on Twitter . "We don't need China and, frankly, would be far better off without them."Experts said tax policy changes and sanctions could be used to restrict or reduce US business activity in China, but it would take years to disentangle the world’s two largest economies. The consequences of a complete break to the world economy would be severe, they said.China, for instance, holds $1.11 trillion in US Treasury securities.For many products sold in the United States, there are few alternatives to Chinese production, and shifting production for major goods produced there could take years and be expensive.American companies could also sue the US government in response to any order to shutter plants in China. The most effective option for Trump would be to restrict federal procurement from any companies that do business in China.Bill Reinsch, a former senior Commerce Department official, said Trump had limited options to force US companies to quit China, and it would make little economic sense.That would hit companies like Boeing Co, Apple Inc and General Motors Co, which are both big US contractors and have large business interests in China."We can’t be a market economy and do that," Reinsch said. "No one’s going to pay attention to it anyway. Companies do what they’re going to do."Many US companies have already begun moving some operations out of China due to rising labor costs. But others, including General Motors, have large plants there to supply the Chinese market. They would resist any pressure to close their facility there, given the size and importance of the Chinese market, Reinsch said.Last week, Trump backed off his September 1 deadline for 10% tariffs on remaining Chinese imports, delaying duties on cellphones, laptops and other consumer goods.The US Trade Representative's Office delayed tariffs on more than half the $300 billion in Chinese-made goods telling companies the delay covered product categories where China supplies more than 75 percent of total US imports. </s> Reacting to a new round of Chinese tariffs imposed on U.S. goods, President Donald Trump said Friday, August 23 he “hereby ordered” U.S. companies to “start looking for an alternative to China” – and he pledged to respond formally within hours, USA Today reports.

In a series of tweets posted before he flies to France for the G-7 meeting of world leaders – where the global economy and trade issues will take center stage – Trump blasted China’s latest action and vowed to announce retaliatory moves soon.

Markets plunged Friday as it became clear the trade war between Washington and Beijing was escalating. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was off by more than 500 points in midday trading, following a series of dramatic declines last week.

Trump said he would respond to the latest tariffs “this afternoon.”

“Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China, including bringing our companies HOME and making your products in the USA,” Trump wrote.

“We don’t need China and, frankly, would be far better off without them,” he added.

White House officials did not respond to questions about what actions, specifically, Trump was referring to as pundits opined on social media that the president cannot easily order companies to pursue other markets. His posts came hours after Chinese officials announced in state media they will impose tariffs ranging from 5% to 10% on an additional $75 billion in U.S. goods, further increasing trade tensions. </s> WASHINGTON – Reacting to a new round of Chinese tariffs imposed on U.S. goods, President Donald Trump said Friday that he ordered U.S. companies to "start looking for an alternative to China" – though it was not clear what order he was referring to.

In a series of tweets posted before Trump flies to France for the G-7 meeting of world leaders – where the global economy and trade issues will take center stage – Trump blasted China's latest action and vowed to announce retaliatory moves soon.

"Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China, including bringing our companies HOME and making your products in the USA," Trump wrote. "I will be responding to China’s Tariffs this afternoon."

White House officials did not respond to questions about what actions, specifically, what Trump was referring to. His posts came hours after Chinese officials announced in state media they impose tariffs ranging from 5% to 10% on an additional $75 billion in U.S. goods, further escalating trade tensions between Washington and Beijing. </s> US President Donald Trump says he has "hereby ordered" American companies with operations in China to "immediately" start looking for an alternative after Beijing announced a series of retaliatory tariffs.

But as markets in the US, Asia and Europe tumbled, the White House offered no further details or explanation of Trump's intentions.

Instead, the president tweeted he would be responding to China's tariffs on Friday afternoon.

"This is a GREAT opportunity for the United States," he wrote.

The US has said it plans to impose 10 per cent tariffs on $US300 billion ($A444 billion) of Chinese goods in two steps, on September 1 and December 15.

China responded on Friday with new tariffs on $US75 billion ($A111 billion) of US products in retaliation, deepening a conflict over trade and technology that threatens to tip a weakening global economy into recession.

China also will increase import duties on US-made autos and auto parts, the Finance Ministry announced.

Tariffs of 10 per cent and 5 per cent will take effect on two batches of goods on September 1 and December 15, the ministry said in a statement.

It gave no details of what goods would be affected but the timing matches Trump's planned duty hikes.

The announcement comes as leaders of the Group of 7 major economies prepare to meet in France this weekend.

Washington is pressing Beijing to narrow its trade surplus and roll back plans for government-led creation of global competitors in robotics, electric cars and other technology industries.

"Our great American companies are hereby ordered to immediately start looking for an alternative to China, including bringing ... your companies HOME and making your products in the USA. I will be responding to China's Tariffs this afternoon," Trump tweeted on Friday.

The White House did not immediately respond to questions about what authority the president has to order private companies to change their business practices. </s> U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said on Thursday he was spending part of his Thanksgiving holiday trying to persuade an Indiana air conditioner maker to keep production in the United States - reflecting his campaign pledge to stop the flow of jobs abroad.

Trump, who is also weighing decisions on his Cabinet during a family retreat at his Mar-a-Lago golf resort in Florida, said on Twitter he was “working hard, even on Thanksgiving, trying to get Carrier A.C. Company to stay in the U.S. (Indiana). MAKING PROGRESS - Will know soon!”

Carrier Corp, a division of United Technologies Corp, responded on Twitter that the company has had “discussions with the incoming administration” but had “nothing to announce at this time.” A representative for the company had no additional comment.

Earlier this year, the company said it would move 1,400 jobs to Mexico from Indiana, giving a three-year timetable for the shift.

The state’s Republican governor, Mike Pence - later picked by Trump as his vice-presidential running mate - decried the decision, and spoke out against it often on the campaign trail.

Trump made Carrier’s decision part of his rallying cry against trade deals that he said were unfavorable to American workers. He said he would slap taxes on the company’s air conditioners shipped back to the United States.

Asked by Reuters last week whether the company was reconsidering its decision given Trump’s victory in the Nov. 8 election over Democrat Hillary Clinton, the company said in a statement it was “making every effort” to help its Indiana employees during the shift.

“By providing three years advance notice of the move and by funding education and retraining programs for up to four years after the move is complete, we are providing employees with both time and opportunity to help them to make a smooth transition,” the company said.

Carrier also cited an agreement it had reached with the United Steelworkers union about compensation for affected workers.

Trump also railed against Ford Motor Co during the campaign, and took a victory lap on Twitter last week after the company informed him it would not shift production of a Lincoln sport utility vehicle to Mexico from Kentucky.

“I worked hard with Bill Ford to keep the Lincoln plant in Kentucky,” Trump tweeted, referring to Ford’s executive chairman.

Ford had never considered moving the whole factory south of the border, but said it was encouraged by Trump’s business policies.

Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, has been interviewing candidates for his Cabinet and other top White House positions. He and Pence have held more than 60 such meetings since the election.

Trump announced two picks on Wednesday for his Cabinet - South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and wealthy Republican donor and school choice advocate Betsy DeVos to lead the Education Department. Both are subject to Senate confirmation.

Major choices for the Pentagon, State Department and Treasury are still to come. A spokesman said no announcements were expected on Thursday.

Trump’s State Department deliberations have spurred debate within his inner circle - particularly his consideration of Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor and businessman who ran against Democratic President Barack Obama in the 2012 election.

Romney would be a comforting pick for establishment Republicans. But hardline Trump backers believe he should be disqualified because he called Trump a “fraud” during the Republican nominating race and urged Republicans to stop him from becoming their candidate for the 2016 election.

Kellyanne Conway, Trump’s senior adviser, said on Thursday she was on the receiving end of a “deluge of social media & private comms” about the Romney option, noting being “loyal” was a positive attribute for the job.

Trump and Pence were “spending significant time” on the secretary of state pick, spokesman Jason Miller told reporters on Wednesday.

“They’ll be looking for things like chemistry, experience, a similar vision into what the president-elect and vice president elect are trying to do with this administration,” Miller said. </s> President Donald Trump in a series of tweets is ordering all U.S. companies with operations in China to begin looking for alternatives in response to retaliatory tariffs from Beijing.

Trump on Friday said that he will respond in hours to an announcement Friday that China was retaliating to U.S. tariffs with a slate of its own protective measures.

Trump is also ordering Fed Ex, Amazon, UPS and the U.S Postal Service to begin searching for fentanyl in all packages from China.

Early on Friday, China said it would put into place tariffs on $75 billion in U.S. products in retaliation for the Trump administration's latest planned tariff hikes.
U.S. President Donald Trump states on Twitter that he has "hereby ordered" that U.S. companies find an alternative for manufacturing in China and relocate "HOME."