Mubasher: The US officially raised tariffs on more than $200 billion worth of Chinese imports, a step by President Donald Trump to pressure China to make more trade concessions, Bloomberg reported.

The new tariff decision which came into effect at 12:01 am Washington time (4:01 am GMT) raised from 10% to 25% on over  5,700 different product categories from China, ranging from cooked vegetables to Christmas items.

US officials said that the shipped goods that are heading for US stores will not be subject to the new levies.

A 25% tariff on further $50 billion in Chinese imports is already implemented.

In immediate response, Beijing stated that it will have to retaliate. Asian equities swung in a volatile trading session, while US futures plunged.

The move came after talks between Chinese high-level trade envoy and his US counterparts in Washington yielded little progress on Thursday, while the negotiations are due to resume on Friday, Bloomberg cited sources familiar with the discussions.

Earlier in the week, President Trump said he would raise levies on Chinese goods to 25% from 10%. In addition, he stated that he will prepare to impose 25% duties on another $325 billion in products from China, which will ultimately subject all of the Chinese exports to the US to new import tariffs.