China is slapping 84 percent tariffs on U.S. goods from Thursday, ramping the impost up from the 34 percent as previously announced, its finance ministry said on Wednesday.
Beijing’s hurried move is just the latest shot in an international trade war sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump as he works to level the playing field for global trade after China’s President Xi Jinping refused to withdraw retaliatory tariffs placed on the United States, as Breitbart News reported.
Last week, Trump announced reciprocal tariffs on countries that have historically imposed high tariffs on the U.S., including China, which faced a 34 percent tariff in addition to existing tariffs on its goods.
China’s own Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council said Trump is making a “mistake” with the government news mouthpiece Global Times urging the U.S. to back down, declaring:
The US escalation of tariffs against China is a mistake on top of a mistake; it seriously infringes upon China’s legitimate rights and interests and gravely undermines the rules‑based multilateral trading system, said the commission.
China urges the US to immediately correct its wrong practices, cancel all unilateral tariff measures against China, and properly resolve differences with China through equal dialogue on the basis of mutual respect.
China, the world’s second-largest economy, previously said it would “fight to the end” and take countermeasures against the United States to safeguard its own interests, as Breitbart News reported.
It also said it is filing a complaint with the World Trade Organisation even as the Trump administration has warned that China’s move to retaliate not negotiate is destined for disaster.
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U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said China’s action is “unfortunate.”
“I think it’s unfortunate that the Chinese actually don’t want to come and negotiate, because they are the worst offenders in the international trading system,” Bessent said in an interview with Fox Business Network.
More to come…
