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US President Donald Trump says he is ready to intensify his trade war with China by slapping tariffs on all $500bn of imports from the country.
"I'm ready to go to 500," he said in an interview with the CNBC channel.
Mr Trump's comments come before the most recent round of US tariffs has had time to take effect.
Last week, Washington listed $200bn (£150bn) worth of additional Chinese products it intends to place tariffs on as soon as September.
The list named more than 6,000 items including food products, minerals and consumer goods such as handbags, to be subject to a 10% tariff.
It is still under public consultation, to last until the end of August.
The United States and China have already imposed tit-for-tat tariffs of $34bn on each other's goods.
"We're down a tremendous amount," said Mr Trump, reiterating his view that China's trade surplus with the United States amounts to unfair trading practices.
When asked if the move might cause a stock market drop, he said: "Well, if it does, it does. Look, I'm not doing this for politics. I'm doing this to do this right thing for our country."
The United States also wants China to stop practices that allegedly encourage transfer of intellectual propertydesign and product ideasto Chinese companies, such as requirements that foreign firms share ownership with local partners to access the Chinese market.
Mr Trump has previously hinted at such an escalation, telling reporters two weeks ago that there was "$300bn in abeyance" after the $200bn of goods covered by the latest list, but this is his most explicit threat yet.
Many companies in the United States are opposed to the administration's use of tariffs against China, saying they risk hurting business and the economy without being likely to change behaviour.
European stock markets fell after the interview was broadcast, with the FTSE 100 down 0.2%.