US president, Donald Trump, has threatened China with an additional 50 per cent tariff if Beijing does not withdraw its retaliatory 34 per cent levied on Washington.
That would come on top of the 34 per cent he announced on goods from China last week.
If enacted, US companies bringing in goods from China would face a tax of at least 104 per cent, roughly doubling their cost in a matter of months.
The threat comes as US markets dropped sharply again on opening Monday.
In London, the FTSE 100 fell to its lowest level in a year, down by six per cent at one point. European share prices have also plunged and Asian stocks have seen their worst drop in decades.
