Source: Pamela Brown and Julia Horowitz, CNN, 6/14/18


President Donald Trump has given his approval for the United States to put tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese exports, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.An official announcement is expected on Friday. The president's green light came after a meeting Thursday with top economic officials, including Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. The move represents a serious escalation of trade tensions between the world's two largest economies — just as Trump has also picked fights with allies Canada, Mexico and the European Union over steel and aluminum.

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