Trade deficit with China costs 2 million jobs to US: White House

Trump imposed $60 billion of tariffs on Chinese imports to punish the country for its "unfair" seizure of American intellectual property, a move that could escalate the already tense trade relations between the world's two biggest economies.

Trump directed the US trade representative to level tariffs on about $60 billion worth of Chinese imports after a seven-month investigation into the intellectual property theft, which has been a longstanding point of contention in US-China trade relations.

China also announced retaliatory measures against the US.

A senior administration official told reporters: "By some calculations, every billion dollar of trade deficit that arises from market-distorted policies, costs us about 6,000 jobs. A very conservative calculation, by some estimates, is that trade deficit results in about two million more jobs in China and two million less here. This is a serious problem that the US side is keenly aware of".

China's "unfair" trade practices has resulted in a goods trade deficit of $370 billion, the official said. The Trump administration said that it is for China to decide what course it wants to take.

"The point here is that China will have a choice as to how to respond, and they have benefited far more from this relationship than we have. We will certainly take that into account," the official said. The typical American corporation that wants to go to China and sell its goods into the Chinese market is on the horns of a dilemma.

Responding to questions, the official said the concerns with Chinese economic practices are widespread throughout the United States and around the world.

"We have heard from many of our trading partners that they share many of these concerns," the official said. Another administration official said China benefits far more from the US-China trade relationship than the US does.

Since 2001, when China joined the World Trade Organisation, its economy has grown from $1 trillion of GDP to $12 trillion; roughly an 800 per cent growth rate.

"During the same period of time, the American economy sputtered. It went from an annual growth rate of about 3.5 per cent between 1947 and 2000, down to around two per cent, which everybody wanted to say was the new normal for America. But the contrast between China's growth and its unfair trade practices, and what had happened to the US in terms of growth and wage growth, is quite startling," the official said.

Later State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert said Trump has been very clear from the first day on the campaign trail, longstanding concerns that he has and administration-wide people have, with China's "unfair"

trade practices.