BEIJING: China on Friday announced that it will impose a 34 percent tariff on imports of all US products starting from April 10, as part of a retaliatory measure following US President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” slate of double-digit tariffs.
On Wednesday, Trump announced that China would face a 34-percent tariff, in addition to the 20 percent imposed earlier this year, raising the total new levies to 54 percent.
On Friday, China’s Ministry of Finance said the additional tariffs would be imposed from April 10. Beijing has previously imposed tariffs of 15 percent on imports of coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US in retaliation for Washington’s 10 percent levies on Chinese goods.
It also announced stiff export controls on key minerals and businesses, limiting what could be exchanged with the US.
“The purpose of the Chinese government’s implementation of export controls on relevant items in accordance with the law is to better safeguard national security and interests, and to fulfil international obligations such as non-proliferation,” the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement.
China has moved forward with countering Trump’s aggressive trade policies, stating that it filed a formal complaint against the new US tariffs with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on Friday.
In its complaint, Beijing argued that the measures violate WTO rules and called for consultations.
“China has filed the WTO complaint with respect to the United States’ measures,” the Permanent Mission of China to the World Trade Organisation said in a statement.
Beijing also implemented broad export controls to restrict the exchange of goods and services with the US. Some of these controls targeted the export of medium and heavy rare earths to the US, including samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, scandium, and yttrium, effective from April 4.
Additionally, China targeted US businesses by adding 16 US entities to its export control list, which prohibits the export of dual-use items to the affected firms.
The Chinese Commerce Ministry said the targeted companies seriously “undermined” China’s national sovereignty, security, and development interests and would be banned from new investments, import and export activities in China.
Although friction on the trade front has been heating up, overall ties are somewhat less fractious.
US and Chinese military officials met this week for the first time since Trump took office in January to share concerns about military safety on the seas. The talks held Wednesday and Thursday in Shanghai were aimed at reducing the risk of trouble, both sides said.
