Trump responds to China raising tariffs — by raising tariffs on over half a trillion dollars in Chinese goods

After US markets tanked on Friday, President Donald Trump dramatically escalated his trade war with China.

"For many years China (and many other countries) has been taking advantage of the United States on trade, intellectual property theft, and much more. Our country has been losing hundreds of billions of dollars a year to China, with no end in sight," Trump tweeted.

"Sadly, past Administrations have allowed China to get so far ahead of fair and balanced trade that it has become a great burden to the American taxpayer. As President, I can no longer allow this to happen," he argued.

Trump then used his Twitter account to announce an increase of tariffs on $550 billion in Chinese goods.

"In the spirit of achieving fair trade, we must balance this very unfair trading relationship. China should not have put new Tariffs on 75 billion dollars of United States product (politically motivated!). Starting on October 1st, the 250 billion dollars of goods and products from China, currently being taxed at 25%, will be taxed at 30%," he announced. "Additionally, the remaining 300 billion of goods and products from China, that was being taxed from September 1st at 10%, will now be taxed at 15%."