Trump to ramp up trade pressure on China with call for probe

U.S. President Donald Trump on Aug. 14 will order his top trade adviser to determine whether to investigate Chinese trade practices that force U.S. firms operating in China to turn over intellectual property, senior administration officials said on Aug. 12.

The move, which could eventually lead to steep tariffs on Chinese goods, comes at a time when Trump has asked China to do more to crack down on North Korea's nuclear missile program as he threatens possible military action against Pyongyang.

Trump has said he would be more amenable to going easy on Beijing if it were more aggressive in reining in North Korea.

An administration official, however, insisted diplomacy over North Korea and the potential trade probe were "totally unrelated," saying the trade action was not a pressure tactic.

"These are two different things," the official said, speaking to reporters on a conference call. 

Trump will direct U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to determine if an investigation is warranted of "any of China's laws, policies, practices or actions that may be unreasonable or discriminatory, and that may be harming American intellectual property, innovation and technology," the official said.

"China's unfair trade practices and industrial policies, including forced technology transfer and intellectual property theft, harm the U.S. economy and workers," a second official told reporters. "The action being taken on Monday is a reflection of the president's firm commitment to addressing this problem in a firm way."

Any investigation that may be launched could take as long as a year to conclude, a third official said. He said it would be premature to speculate on actions that could eventually be taken against...