Oakland mayor in California criticizes Trump's trade policy with China for harming American jobs

SAN FRANCISCO -- Mayor Libby Schaaf of Oakland city in Northern California on Friday criticized US President Donald Trump for escalating trade tensions with China that will eventually harm American jobs.

Schaaf, who was attending an event in Oakland to celebrate with the Muslim community the designation of August as Muslim Appreciation and Awareness Month, told Xinhua that the US trade frictions with China initiated by the United States is impacting everyone and does not serve the interests of anybody.

"The trade war serves no one, it is misguided, it is wrong, and it is harmful for both of our countries and the entire world," she said.

The Customs Tariff Commission of China's State Council announced earlier Friday that China will impose additional tariffs on US imports worth 75 billion US dollars in response to the newly announced US tariff hikes on Chinese goods.

The tariff increase will be implemented in two batches and take effect on Sept 1 and Dec 15, respectively, the commission said in a statement.

Shortly, Trump tweeted that the United States will raise existing duties on 250 billion dollars of Chinese products from 25 percent to 30 percent beginning on Oct 1, and another 300 billion dollars worth of Chinese imports will see tariff rise from 10 percent to 15 percent on Sept 1.

Schaaf said Oakland has the third busiest port on the US West Coast.