Trump ready to put tariffs on $500 billion of Chinese imports: CNBC

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said he was poised to place tariffs on $500 billion of imported goods from China, threatening in an interview with CNBC to escalate the current trade clash with the Asian nation.

“We’re down a tremendous amount,” Trump said in the interview, which was recorded on Thursday, about trade imbalances with China. “I’m ready to go to 500.”

Reporting by Susan Heavey and Doina Chiacu; Writing by Lisa Lambert; Editing by Alison Williams