China has raised the stakes in the escalating trade showdown with the US, unveiling tariffs on a targeted list of American imports in response to levies on more than 1,300 Chinese goods put forward by Donald Trump.
Sending a message to Washington that economic threats made by the Trump White House would be matched with equal force, Beijing said it would impose additional tariffs of 25% on 106 American products from 14 categories; including soybeans, cars and chemical products.
Wall Street slumped as financial markets around the world were rocked by the potential for tensions to mount further, in the latest advance towards a full-blown trade war between the two nations that would have damaging consequences for the global economy. The Dow Jones later recovered much of that lost ground and was down only 36 points at lunchtime in New York.
Chinese state news agencies said the new tariffs – which are a tax on imported goods – would cover shipments from the US worth up to $50bn (£36bn).
China’s response came after fresh details were announced by the US just hours earlier for 25% tariffs on $50bn of imports from China, in a move designed to target the country’s industrial base. Covering a list of 1,333 products, the measures brought forward by Trump will hit everything from China’s industrial robots and electronics to metal alloys, aircraft parts, vaccines and dishwashing machines.
Washington said the levies were in response to China’s “unfair trade practices related to the forced transfer of US technology and intellectual property”, adding that the list of products had been designed to target China’s industrial plans while minimising the impact on the US economy.
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