US President Donald Trump on Monday said he planned to increase punitive tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of imported Chinese goods, as planned next year.

 

A few days before a scheduled meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump also pledged to charge all goods imported from China if the two sides failed to reach an agreement, according to the Wall Street Journal.

 

Trump has charged more than $ 250 billion of Chinese goods, accounting for about half of all imported goods each year, in an effort to pressure China to change its trade laws.

 

"If we do not reach an agreement, I will add the other $ 267 billion," he told the paper, referring to the remaining Chinese imports that have not yet been paid. "The only agreement is that China opens its doors to competition from the United States."

 

If Trump goes ahead with additional punitive fees, this will include Apple's manufactured products in China.

 

In September, Washington imposed a fee of 10 percent on imported Chinese goods worth 200 billion dollars in an effort to force Beijing to back away from "unfair" trade practices, according to Washington, such as intellectual property transfer and massive government intervention in the markets.

 

Fees are expected to rise to 25 percent early next year, which US companies and markets hope to avoid.

 

Goods worth $ 50 billion face punitive fees of 25 percent, but Beijing hopes Washington will back off the increase during the Trump-Wuxi meeting this week.