The U.S. has advised against all travel to China after the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of a new virus that has spread to more than a dozen countries a global emergency.
The halt on China's imports of wastepaper and plastic that has disrupted U.S. recycling programs has also spurred investment in American plants that process recyclables.
The Finance Ministry said Monday the new penalty duties of 5% to 25% on hundreds of U.S. products including batteries, spinach and coffee will take effect June 1.
In a series of blustering morning tweets, Trump also claimed the new tariffs will help rather than hurt the U.S. and bring "FAR MORE wealth." He offered a proposal he said would ease any negative impact on U.S. farmers from lost sales to China.
In Beijing, Chinese officials said they will retaliate if President Donald Trump goes ahead with more tariff hikes, adding to the heated rhetoric from both sides that was shaking stock markets around the world.
A former General Electric engineer and his business partner in China were indicted Tuesday on charges they stole the company's trade secrets from a New York plant for the Chinese government in what federal prosecutors called "a textbook example" of industrial espionage.