China today imposed additional tariffs on imports of selected goods from the United States. This is in response to a measure resorted to by President Donald Trump’s administration last week, Kyodo news agency reported. Duties on top of those already in place vary according to specific items, reaching up to 15 per cent for US coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG), while a 10 per cent levy is imposed on imports of oil, agricultural machinery and some cars.
Duty
Trump decided last week to impose a ten per cent additional tariff on imports of goods from China. He also threatened Mexico and Canada with higher tariffs, but reached a last-minute agreement with the leaders of those two countries, and postponed the tariffs for a month. Whether he actually imposes them will depend on how Ottawa and Mexico comply with his demands to curb illegal migration and the smuggling of the drug fentanyl.
Beijing’s decision to impose new tariffs re-escalates the trade war that the world’s two largest economies have been waging with each other since Trump’s first term. The Asian superpower has already lodged a complaint with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) over the new tariffs and launched an antitrust investigation into US technology firm Google, even though the company’s services are effectively banned in mainland China.
Trade tensions
The United States imposed a new 10 percent tariff on Chinese goods on February 4. Trump had previously accused China of not doing enough to stop the supply of substances used to make fentanyl, the leading cause of overdose deaths in the US. Trump said the goal of raising tariffs was to get Beijing to remedy the situation.
Whether Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold telephone talks in the near future to ease trade tensions remains to be seen, Kyodo news agency reports. The White House said on February 3 that Trump could speak with the Chinese president “in the coming days.”
Source: ČTK
