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Update: US to hit China with more tariffs as new round of trade talks approaches

The U.S. is set to impose 25% tariffs on $50 billion of goods imported from China containing industrially significant technology, less than two weeks after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said a trade war was on hold.

The White House plans to release a list of covered imports by June 15, with tariffs taking effect "shortly thereafter." The tariffs will include goods related to the "Made in China 2025," program, a Chinese initiative to become a major player in advanced manufacturing.

With Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross set to visit China at the beginning of June, the threats may be a bargaining ploy, said Simon Lester, a trade policy analyst at the libertarian Cato Institute.

"It seems to me like this is just sort of their classic strategy. We're negotiating with somebody. Let's threaten some tariffs. That'll make them nervous, make them cave in and give in to our demands. I don't know if that's what they have in mind but it looks pretty familiar to me." Lester said. "The fact that Wilbur Ross is heading over there pretty soon, it just kind of fits with that pattern."

In addition, the White House said the U.S. will adopt investment restrictions and enhanced export controls for Chinese individuals and entities involved in "the acquisition of industrially significant technology." The administration will detail those restrictions by June 30, according to the statement.

China is unlikely to "change their whole economic model" to meet U.S. demands on protecting technology, said Gary Hufbauer, a senior resident at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

That stance could lead to "a chill on investment in both directions and technology flows from the U.S. to China, either by Chinese acquisitions of U.S. companies or by U.S. companies doing business in China," he added.

The focus on intellectual property may be a sign the Trump administration is working to strike a balance between giving China what it wants and not alienating Congress, said Todd Tucker, a fellow at the left-leaning Roosevelt Institute.

Tucker said the administration's backtracking on a ban of U.S. companies selling components and software to Chinese telecommunications firm ZTE opened the door for Beijing to engage in new talks. But that move meant Congress needed assurances from the administration that it would make up for the negotiations regarding ZTE.

"Today's announcement was really an effort to keep them on board because there's a lot of things the administration is doing that they don't like," Tucker said of lawmakers on Capitol Hill. "You've got to give them something to keep from bolting from your coalition altogether. This announcement is part of that. It's part of that balancing act between ZTE last week, which was a bit of giving up for the U.S., and then plowing forward on intellectual property rights this week is sort of something that could be more aggressive."

Hufbauer said the June 15 deadline for tariffs will largely depend on Ross' visit. "You want to come home with a number like additional Chinese purchases of U.S. goods of 30 billion, 50 billion," he said.

If Ross is unable to hit that target, the chances of a trade war could increase, despite the damage it could do to businesses and the likely negative reaction from financial markets, Hufbauer added.

Aside from the tariffs and restrictions, the U.S. is also continuing to pursue litigation against China at the World Trade Organization over Beijing's "unfair technology practices," according to the statement.

Chinese officials, in remarks submitted to the WTO, rejected the claim that the nation's licensing and administrative rules force U.S. companies to share their technology in exchange for doing business there.