KEY POINTS
- China and Canada challenge US tariffs imposed by Trump
- China slams US tariff hikes a violation of WTO rules
- Beijing imposes retaliatory duties on US imports
- Canada protests ‘unjustified’ tariffs
- Trump pushes trade war agenda
- Trudeau calls the trade war “dumb” and accuses Trump of economic sabotage
GENEVA, Switzerland: China and Canada said that they had filed complaints with the World Trade Organization against the United States over President Donald Trump’s tariff increases, the WTO said on Wednesday.
The statement from Beijing came a day after Trump ordered additional tariffs against Chinese goods, increasing previously imposed 10 percent levies to 20 percent.
“The United States’ unilateral tax measures seriously violate WTO rules and undermine the foundation of China-US economic and trade cooperation,” Beijing’s commerce ministry said in a statement, adding that it was “strongly dissatisfied and firmly opposed” to the tariffs.
In response to the US tariffs, Beijing has imposed new duties on a range of agricultural imports from the United States.
The additional 15 percent tariffs on products including chicken, wheat, corn and cotton are due to come into effect next week.
“China will, in accordance with WTO rules, firmly safeguard its legitimate rights and interests and defend… the international economic and trade order,” the commerce ministry statement added.
A WTO official confirmed that the new complaint from China had been received, AFP reported.
In a white paper released Tuesday, China’s National Narcotics Control Commission touted actions already taken to crack down on trafficking of fentanyl-related substances, state media reported.
“Since implementing full control of fentanyl-related substances, China has not detected any further cases of smuggling or selling fentanyl-related substances abroad,” Xinhua reported, attributing the matter to a senior commission official.
China is a major market for US energy exports and according to Beijing customs data, imports of oil, coal and LNG totalled more than $7 billion last year.
Beijing launched a similar dispute in February when Trump first threatened the tariffs, describing the levies as “malicious” at the time.
It says it will also probe US tech giant Google and the American fashion group which owns Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein.
Trump has made tariffs a key foreign policy tool of his second term, joking that the word tariff is the “most beautiful” in the dictionary.
The Republican has also imposed tariffs on Mexico and Canada which he says are punishment for failing to halt the flow of migrants and drugs into the United States.
Canada files complaint with WTO
Canada has filed a complaint with the WTO against the US over Trump’s tariff increases.
Late Tuesday, Canadian ambassador to the WTO Nadia Theodore wrote on LinkedIn that “the US decision leaves us with no choice”.
She said she had, “on behalf of the government of Canada, requested WTO consultations with the government of the United States in regard to its unjustified tariffs on Canada”.
A WTO official said that “Canada initiated dispute proceedings yesterday against the US at the WTO on the additional tariffs”, following a similar complaint filed by Beijing over fresh US levies on Chinese goods, AFP reported.
ALSO READ: US Tariffs on Canada, Mexico Imports Come Into Effect
Shortly after Trump returned to office on January 20 he announced — and then paused — blanket 25 percent tariffs on imports from major trading partners Canada and Mexico, accusing them of failing to stop illegal immigration and drug trafficking.
He pushed ahead with them Tuesday, citing a lack of progress on both fronts. And after Canada retaliated, Trump quickly threatened to hit Canada again.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, however, said later that he thought Trump would “work something out” with Mexico and Canada.
Trump also inked an order Monday to increase a previously imposed 10 percent tariff on China to 20 percent — piling atop existing levies on various Chinese goods.
Shortly after the tariffs on Canadian goods took effect, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attacked Washington’s “dumb” trade war, and accused Trump of trying to cause the collapse of Canada’s economy to make it easier for the United States to annex his country.
In her message, Theodore said she had filed her country’s complaint while wearing “my suit from Anishinaabe and Canadian fashion designer Lesley Hampton”.
And she signed off with “Elbows up” — the rallying cry of Canada’s national sport hockey.
