WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has decided to impose tariffs on US$200 billion in Chinese imports and could make the announcement in the coming days, US media reported.
Citing anonymous sources, the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal reported that the tariffs would be set at 10%.
Trump has already imposed 25% tariffs on steel imports and 10% on aluminum, as well as 25% on $50 billion in goods from China.
The prospect of new tariffs undercuts hopes of an imminent reduction in trade tensions between Washington and Beijing.
White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters declined comment on the timing of a possible announcement, but said: "The president has been clear that he and his administration will continue to take action to address China's unfair trade practices. We encourage China to address the long standing concerns raised by the United States.''
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that it was invited to hold new talks. Envoys from the two countries last met on Aug 22 in Washington but reported no progress.
Beijing has rejected pressure from the United States to roll back plans for state-led development of Chinese global champions in robotics, artificial intelligence and other fields.
Washington, Europe and other trading partners say those plans violate China's market-opening commitments. American officials also worry they might erode US industrial leadership.
Forecasters have warned that the worsening conflict between the world's two biggest traders could cut up to 0.5 percentage point off global economic growth through 2020 if all threatened tariff hikes go ahead.
China has tried without success to recruit Germany, France, South Korea and other governments as allies against Washington. Some of them have criticised Trump's tactics but many echo US complaints about Chinese market barriers and industrial strategy.