Trade War Escalates: China Retaliates with 34% Tariffs on US Imports

Source: Africa Publicity

In a move that’s expected to worsen trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies, China announced on Friday that it will impose reciprocal 34% tariffs on all imports from the United States starting April 10. This decision comes after US President Donald Trump unveiled an additional 34% tariffs on all Chinese goods imports into the US on Wednesday.

China’s State Council Tariff Commission condemned the US move, stating that “This practice of the US is not in line with international trade rules, seriously undermines China’s legitimate rights and interests, and is a typical unilateral bullying practice”.

The tariffs are expected to have a significant impact on trade between the two economies, with Chinese goods arriving in the US facing effective tariffs of 54%. This is higher than what many analysts had expected and could fundamentally reshape relations between the two economies.

In addition to the tariffs, China also announced other retaliatory measures, including adding 11 American companies to its “unreliable entity list” and imposing export controls on 16 American companies. The Commerce Ministry also announced anti-dumping investigations into imported medical CT X-ray tubes originating from the US and India.

The tariffs come at a challenging time for China’s own slowing economy, with officials ramping up efforts to spur weak domestic consumption. US stock futures plunged on Friday after China’s announcement, with Dow futures falling 1,000 points, or 2.3%. European and UK stocks were also down more than 3% on Friday.