Mubasher: US President Donald Trump threatened to raise duties on all Chinese imports to 25% in an attempt to heap pressure on Beijing to make concessions in the round of trade talks for this week, the Financial Times (FT) reported.

The tariffs levied on Chinese goods over the course of the past year were “partially responsible for our great economic results” with only a “little impact on product cost,” President Trump’s Sunday tweet was quoted by the FT.

The 10% tariffs in place on $200 billion of Chinese imports would be raised to 25% next Friday, Trump said, pointing that a currently “untaxed” $325 billion range of Chinese products would soon be subject to duties of 25%.

Trump also noted that the trade negotiations between both sides continued to yield progress but too slowly.

It is worth noting that Chinese Vice Premier Liu He is set to arrive in Washington for a make-or-break round of trade talks with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

This round of talks will pave the way for a “signing” meeting between President Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, possibly in mid-June, the FT said, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The fate of US tariffs currently in effect on Chinese imports remained one of the biggest sticking points.

While Beijing looks to completely remove them, Washington pushes to keep them, as an enforcement mechanism to ensure China’s compliance with the deal.

Moreover, both sides are still haggling over the extent of Chinese concessions on structural economic reforms.