China hits back against US Tariffs
China says that it will strike back quickly if the United States hurts its interests, hours before US President Donald Trump was due to unveil revisions to a tariff list targeting 50 billion dollars’ worth of Chinese goods.
Washington and Beijing appeared increasingly to be headed toward a trade war after several rounds of negotiations failed to resolve US complaints over Chinese industrial policy, market access and a 375 billion dollars trade gap.
“If the United States takes unilateral, protectionist measures, harming China’s interests, we will quickly react and take necessary steps to resolutely protect our fair, legitimate rights,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a regular daily news briefing.
Trump was due to give details later on Friday of a revised list of 800 product categories, down from 1,300, according to an administration official and an industry source familiar with the list.
Trump has made up his mind to impose “pretty significant” tariffs on Chinese goods, another administration official said on Thursday.
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“My great friendship with President Xi Jinping of China and our country’s relationship with China are both very important to me,” Donald Trump said in a statement on Friday that amounted to the first real shot fired in a trade battle that has been brewing for months.
“Trade between our nations, however, has been very unfair, for a very long time. This situation is no longer sustainable.”
The new import taxes, aimed at forcing Beijing to stop what the US claims has been systematic theft of US intellectual property, will apply to a wide variety of products ranging from cars and helicopters to bulldozers and industrial tools and machinery.
“The United States can no longer tolerate losing our technology and intellectual property through unfair economic practices,” Mr Trump said. “These tariffs are essential to preventing further unfair transfers of American technology and intellectual property to China, which will protect American jobs. In addition, they will serve as an initial step toward bringing balance to the trade relationship between the United States and China.”
The tariffs on a $34bn tranche of 818 product lines will take effect from July 6, the US said. Duties on a separate list of 284 products worth $16bn will be subject to a public consultation period and take effect later.
Beijing swiftly responded. “China will immediately introduce countermeasures of the same scale and strength,” an unnamed Chinese commerce ministry spokesperson was quoted as saying on the ministry’s website shortly after Washington’s announcement of the duties.
The ministry did not provide a full list of the tariffs or details about when they would be imposed. “At the same time, all the economic and trade-related achievements previously reached by the two sides will be rendered invalid,” the ministry cited the spokesperson as saying, referring to the results of earlier rounds of China-US trade talks.
In a sign of how the trade conflict is likely to escalate still further, Mr Trump warned on Friday that the US was prepared to impose yet more tariffs if China chose to go ahead with its advertised retaliation against US farm exports such as beef and soyabeans.
“The United States will pursue additional tariffs if China engages in retaliatory measures, such as imposing new tariffs on United States goods, services, or agricultural products; raising non-tariff barriers; or taking punitive actions against American exporters or American companies operating in China,” he said.
US officials have been putting the final touches on a list of a further $100bn in Chinese imports to target for tariffs in the event of Chinese retaliation, although further US action could take months to roll out.
Friday’s move drew immediate protests from the US business community, farm groups and pro-trade members of Mr Trump’s Republican party.
