China has struck back by imposing tariffs on U.S. imports after President Donald Trump’s own tariffs came into effect Tuesday.
According to CNN, Beijing announced Tuesday that it would be implementing its own tariffs against the U.S. after a 10% tariff on Chinese goods was imposed through executive order.
Unlike Canada and Mexico – who were given an additional 30-days before their own tariffs come into effect — China was not given this grace period and have struck back by imposing a 15% tax on products like coal and liquefied natural gas and a 10% tariff on crude oil, agricultural machinery, and pickup trucks: which are due to take effect February 10.
China’s Ministry of Commerce, along with China’s customs administration further announced new export controls on dozens of products, including tungsten, a metal used in high-tech machinery used within defense and industrial settings. Tellurium, used to make solar cells, has also had new controls applied to its exports.
American companies Illumina, a biotech company, and the PVH Group, a fashion retailer and owner of clothing brands like Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, have been added to an “unreliable entities list” by the ministry for allegedly violating trading principles.
China’s State Administration for Market Regulation also announced it was planning on launching an investigation in Google for anti-monopoly violation, despite Google having very little presence in the Chinese market.
It was further reported that the measures imposed by China could have a detrimental effect on the U.S. economy and American businesses because of China’s strangle-hold on tungsten, of which China controls at least 80% of the world’s entire production.
According to CNN, the Chinese tariffs only affect approximately 12% of the country’s imports of U.S. goods, around $20 billion in total trade. In contrast, Chinese goods being targeted by the U.S., equates to over $450 billion annually. Beijing has now filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization.
“The U.S. practice seriously undermines the rules-based multilateral trading system, undermines the foundation of economic and trade cooperation between China and the United States, and disrupts the stability of the global industrial chain and supply chain,” China’s commerce ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
