China threatens countermeasures to combat Trump tariffs

MT HANNACH
4 Min Read
Disclosure: This website may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you click on the link and make a purchase. I only recommend products or services that I personally use and believe will add value to my readers. Your support is appreciated!

Unlock the White House Watch watch newsletter for free

Beijing has struck new 10% tariffs imposed by the United States on Chinese exports, claiming that it “would take the countermeasures necessary to defend its rights and its interests” while trade tensions between the two powers enter a new phase.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday that China opposed the prices which, according to him, had been introduced “under the pretext of the fentanyl issue”.

“The United States must see and solve its own fentanyl problem in an objective and rational way instead of threatening other countries with increases in arbitrary prices,” said MFA.

The Chinese Commerce Ministry said it would take legal action with the World Trade Organization.

The 10% of additional samples arise New prices of 25% On the exports of Canada and Mexico, while President Trump embarked on an extended trade war, following a series of measures imposed on China by the United States during his first mandate.

Trump said that the influx of “illegal extraterrestrials” and that drugs, including fentanyl opiates, had created a “national emergency” that justified the prices.

During the electoral campaign last year, he warned against prices that were up to 60% against China, but later reported a rate of 10%. He linked samples to the role of the country in the flow of ingredients or “precursors” for fentanyl.

China accepted to take measures To stem the flow of precursors at a summit between President Xi Jinping and then president Joe Biden in San Francisco in November 2023. Since then, Beijing has taken certain measures that have been welcomed by the Biden administration, but Critics, including in the outgoing administration, wanted China to do much more.

Although widely awaited, the measures pose an important challenge for the Xi Jinping government at a time when the weaknesses of domestic demand made it particularly dependent on economic growth exports. Last year, the commercial surplus of China struck a record of almost 1 tn.

Tao Wang, Chinese chief economist at UBS Investment Bank, said the prices had been imposed faster than expected and that the coverage rate of 10% was larger than the progressive measures under the first administration of Trump.

“It is wider and probably much greater than the first round,” she said, adding that many expected Trump adding more prices once his civil servants have completed an examination of politics commercial in April.

Wang said she was expecting a blow for China’s GDP from 0.3 to 0.4%.

In a report published last week, Morningstar said that 10% prices would affect household appliances, home furniture, lithium batteries and electric vehicles in China. But that added that many companies “would probably see an impact less than 5% of their respective total income” and that they “may not be as bad as they are fearing for certain industries”.

Beijing also faces trade tensions with the EU on the prices imposed on its electric vehicles last summer, which led to a wave of countermeasures on products from products Cognac to dairy.

Share This Article
Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *