Beijing
has announced plans to slap import taxes targeting 5,207 American
products worth $60 billion in retaliation to trade tariffs on Chinese
goods imposed by the US. The tariffs would range from 5 percent to 25
percent.
“The
implementation date of the taxation measures will be subject to the
actions of the US, and China reserves the right to continue to
introduce other countermeasures,” the Chinese government press
release stated. “Any unilateral threat or blackmail will only
lead to intensification of conflicts and damage to the interests of
all parties.”
According
to China’s Ministry of Commerce, the measure will come into force
immediately if Washington starts to impose taxes on Chinese imports.
The
announcement comes after US President Donald Trump threatened to
raise the proposed tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese exports from 10
percent to 25 percent. The step is reportedly being considered by
the White House in order to narrow the trade deficit between the US
and China.
In July,
Washington fired the first salvo in the escalating trade war with
Beijing by introducing 25 percent tariffs on Chinese imports worth
$34 billion. China immediately retaliated by imposing levies on the
same amount of US goods. The next round of tariffs on mutual imports
worth $16 billion could come into force on Friday.
The
trade dispute between Beijing and Washington comes amid the growing
discontent frequently expressed by President Trump over the US trade
deficit with China, which reached $320 billion last year. Trump also
accused China of unfair trade practices, intellectual property theft,
currency manipulation and providing state aid to Chinese firms.
Commenting
on US threats, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told
journalists on Friday that “the Chinese side calls on the US to
return to rationality, and eradicate its mistakes to create the right
conditions for resolving the problem.”
Source:
Comments
Post a Comment