China affirms retaliation on new US tariffs

September 18, 2018 (MLN): China’ commerce ministry has released a statement affirming its retaliation against new U.S. trade tariffs, following an imposition of 10 percent tariffs on about $200 billion worth of imports from China by the U.S government.

So far, the United States has imposed tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese products to pressure Beijing to reduce its huge bilateral trade surplus and make extensive changes to its trade, technology transfer and high-tech industrial subsidy policies.

On the other hand, China has proposed tariffs on $110 billion of U.S. goods, representing most of its imports of American products.

Collection of tariffs on the long-anticipated U.S. list will start on September 24, but the rate will increase to 25 percent by the end of 2018 allowing U.S. companies some time to adjust their supply chains to other countries.

Trump had earlier warned on Monday that if China takes retaliatory action against U.S., he will immediately pursue phase three, which is tariffs on approximately $267 billion of additional imports. If the administration imposes the additional tariffs, it would engulf all remaining U.S. imports from China.

According to a senior Chinese securities market official, U.S. trade actions won’t affect the Chinese economy as China has ample fiscal and monetary policy tools to cope with the impact. The government already has been ramping up spending on infrastructure.

The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China stated on Tuesday that the tensions in the global economic system have manifested themselves in the U.S.-China trade war, which is now seriously disrupting global supply chains.

As per a government source in Beijing, China is reviewing plans to send a delegation to Washington for fresh talks in light of the U.S. action.

China's yuan currency slipped against the dollar on Tuesday after news of the U.S. measures. It has weakened by about 6.0 percent since mid-June, offsetting the 10 percent tariff rate by a considerable margin.

President of the Information Technology Industry Council Dean Garfield termed President Trump’s decision as reckless and said it will cause lasting harm to communities across the country.

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