Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Trade War Escalates as China Announces Tariffs on US Imports
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 7 years ago on
September 18, 2018

Share

BEIJING โ€” The U.S.-China trade war escalated further Tuesday, with China announcing retaliatory tax increases on $60 billion worth of U.S. imports, including coffee, honey and industrial chemicals.

โ€œThe downward spiral that we have previously warned about now seems certain to materialize.โ€ โ€” William Zarit, American Chamber of Commerce in China chairman
The increases are in response to the U.S. announcing it will impose tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese-made goods starting next week. The tariffs will start at 10 percent, then rise to 25 percent on Jan. 1.
Chinaโ€™s Finance Ministry said its tariff increases are aimed at curbing โ€œtrade frictionโ€ and the โ€œunilateralism and protectionism of the United States.โ€
There was no word on whether China would back out of trade talks it said it was invited to by the U.S., but a Chinese Commerce Ministry statement said the U.S. increase โ€œbrings new uncertainty to the consultations.โ€
The two countries have already imposed import taxes on $50 billion worth of each otherโ€™s goods. President Donald Trump threatened to add an additional $267 billion in Chinese imports to the target list if China retaliated for the latest U.S. taxes. That would raise the total affected by U.S. penalties to $517 billion, covering nearly everything China sells to the United States.
The American Chamber of Commerce in China warned Tuesday that Washington is underestimating Beijingโ€™s determination to fight back.
โ€œThe downward spiral that we have previously warned about now seems certain to materialize,โ€ said William Zarit, the chamberโ€™s chairman.

Plans to Overtake U.S. Technological Supremacy

At the root of the trade war are U.S. complaints about Chinaโ€™s plans to try to overtake U.S. technological supremacy. Those plans include โ€œMade in China 2025,โ€ which calls for creating powerful Chinese entities to compete in robotics and other fields. The U.S. says the plans are based on stolen technology, violate Chinaโ€™s market-opening commitments and might erode American industrial leadership.

โ€œChina has had many opportunities to fully address our concerns. I urge Chinaโ€™s leaders to take swift action to end their countryโ€™s unfair trade practices.โ€ โ€” President Donald Trump
American companies and trading partners including the European Union and Japan have longstanding complaints about Chinese market barriers and industrial policy. But they object to Trumpโ€™s tactics and warn the dispute could chill global economic growth and undermine international trade regulation.
Trump has strained relations with potential allies including the European Union, Canada and Mexico by raising tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. He demanded Canada and Mexico renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement to make it more favorable to the United States.
Trump has also complained about Americaโ€™s gaping trade deficit โ€” $336 billion last year โ€” with China, its biggest trading partner.
โ€œChina has had many opportunities to fully address our concerns,โ€ Trump said in a statement. โ€œI urge Chinaโ€™s leaders to take swift action to end their countryโ€™s unfair trade practices.โ€
The trade gap means China will run out of U.S. imports to tax while the U.S. still has plenty of Chinese imports to target. But Beijing has other ways to retaliate. American companies say regulators are already starting to disrupt their operations.

U.S. Taxes Are Targeting Chinese Goods

Last week, the American Chambers of Commerce in China and in Shanghai reported 52 percent of more than 430 companies that responded to a survey said they have faced slower customs clearance and increased inspections and bureaucratic procedures.

โ€œContrary to views in Washington, China can โ€” and will โ€” dig its heels in and we are not optimistic about the prospect for a resolution in the short term.โ€ โ€” William Zarit, American Chamber of Commerce in China chairman
The U.S. taxes are targeting Chinese goods that Washington says have benefited from improper industrial policies. Beijingโ€™s tariffs have hit soybeans and other farm goods from states that voted for Trump in 2016.
โ€œContrary to views in Washington, China can โ€” and will โ€” dig its heels in and we are not optimistic about the prospect for a resolution in the short term,โ€ said Zarit of the American Chamber of Commerce. โ€œNo one will emerge victorious from this counter-productive cycle.โ€
In the first two rounds of tariffs, the Trump administration took care to try to spare American consumers from the direct impact of the import taxes. The tariffs focused on industrial products, not on things Americans buy at the mall or via Amazon.
By expanding the list to $200 billion of Chinese products, Trump may spread the pain to ordinary households. The administration is targeting a bewildering variety of goods โ€” from sockeye salmon to baseball gloves to bamboo mats โ€” forcing U.S. companies to scramble for suppliers outside China, absorb the import taxes or pass along the cost to their customers.
The U.S. government did withdraw some items from its preliminary list of imports to be taxed, including child-safety products such as bicycle helmets. And in a victory for Apple Inc., the administration removed smart watches and some other consumer electronics products.

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

UP NEXT

Man Pleads Guilty to Trying to Assassinate Justice Kavanaugh

Smittcamp Warns Fresno Supervisors About New Copper Theft Law. Bredefeld Wants to Take a Risk

12 hours ago

Border Patrol Said It Targeted Known Criminals in Kern County. But It Had No Record on 77 of 78 Arrestees

12 hours ago

โ€˜World-Class Nightlifeโ€™: CA Lawmakers Try Again to Extend Last Call to 4 AM

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Enjoy closing down a California bar at 2 a.m.? By Yue St...

11 hours ago

11 hours ago

โ€˜World-Class Nightlifeโ€™: CA Lawmakers Try Again to Extend Last Call to 4 AM

11 hours ago

Fresno County Passes Ordinance to Punish Copper Wire Thieves

11 hours ago

Fresno Native Denise Whisenhunt Returns Home to Lead City College

12 hours ago

Smittcamp Warns Fresno Supervisors About New Copper Theft Law. Bredefeld Wants to Take a Risk

Border Patrol Sgt. Gregory Bovino
12 hours ago

Border Patrol Said It Targeted Known Criminals in Kern County. But It Had No Record on 77 of 78 Arrestees

12 hours ago

Eyewitnesses Recount Deadly Israeli Attack on Medics in Gaza

13 hours ago

How High Will the Thermometer Climb This Week in Fresno?

14 hours ago

Visalia Man Admits to Selling Machine Guns to Undercover Agent

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend