Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Want to Work at Big Fresno Fair? Annual Jobs Event is Thursday

6 hours ago

Targeted Israeli Rocket Strike Kills Al Jazeera Journalists in Gaza

7 hours ago

Landmark Trial Starts Over Trump’s Use of National Guard in LA

8 hours ago

Trump Says Both Sides in Ukraine War Will Need to Cede Territory

9 hours ago

California Supreme Court Hands Victory to Rooftop Solar Panel Owners

12 hours ago

Apollo 13 Commander Jim Lovell Dies at 97

13 hours ago

Marjaree Mason Center Announces Top 10 Professional Women Honorees

2 days ago

Visalia Roadwork to Close Giddings Street Through December

4 days ago
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 — 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.

“The downward spiral that we have previously warned about now seems certain to materialize.”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.
China’s Finance Ministry said its tariff increases are aimed at curbing “trade friction” and the “unilateralism and protectionism of the United States.”
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 “brings new uncertainty to the consultations.”
The two countries have already imposed import taxes on $50 billion worth of each other’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 Beijing’s determination to fight back.
“The downward spiral that we have previously warned about now seems certain to materialize,” said William Zarit, the chamber’s chairman.

Plans to Overtake U.S. Technological Supremacy

At the root of the trade war are U.S. complaints about China’s plans to try to overtake U.S. technological supremacy. Those plans include “Made in China 2025,” 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 China’s market-opening commitments and might erode American industrial leadership.

“China has had many opportunities to fully address our concerns. I urge China’s leaders to take swift action to end their country’s unfair trade practices.”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 Trump’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 America’s gaping trade deficit — $336 billion last year — with China, its biggest trading partner.
“China has had many opportunities to fully address our concerns,” Trump said in a statement. “I urge China’s leaders to take swift action to end their country’s unfair trade practices.”
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.

“Contrary to views in Washington, China can — and will — dig its heels in and we are not optimistic about the prospect for a resolution in the short term.” — 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. Beijing’s tariffs have hit soybeans and other farm goods from states that voted for Trump in 2016.
“Contrary to views in Washington, China can — and will — dig its heels in and we are not optimistic about the prospect for a resolution in the short term,” said Zarit of the American Chamber of Commerce. “No one will emerge victorious from this counter-productive cycle.”
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 — from sockeye salmon to baseball gloves to bamboo mats — 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

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

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

DON'T MISS

Fight Over Fresno Mobile Home Park Ends As Self-Help Enterprises Takes Over

DON'T MISS

Explosions at US Steel Plant Leave One Dead, 10 Injured

DON'T MISS

Israel Steps up Gaza City Bombing After Netanyahu’s Vow To Expand Offensive

DON'T MISS

Want to Work at Big Fresno Fair? Annual Jobs Event is Thursday

DON'T MISS

EJ Warner Named Fresno State Starting QB, Gets Shout-Out From His Dad

DON'T MISS

Targeted Israeli Rocket Strike Kills Al Jazeera Journalists in Gaza

DON'T MISS

Landmark Trial Starts Over Trump’s Use of National Guard in LA

DON'T MISS

Eric Grant Is New US Attorney for Region That Includes Fresno

DON'T MISS

Trump Says Both Sides in Ukraine War Will Need to Cede Territory

DON'T MISS

Gifford Fire Grows to Nearly 120,000 Acres With 33% Containment

UP NEXT

Targeted Israeli Rocket Strike Kills Al Jazeera Journalists in Gaza

UP NEXT

Trump Says Both Sides in Ukraine War Will Need to Cede Territory

UP NEXT

Terrible Thirst Hits Gaza With Polluted Aquifers and Broken Pipelines

UP NEXT

How a CIA Hit on Al Qaeda Ensnared a US Citizen in Afghanistan

UP NEXT

National Weather Service to Restore Hundreds of Jobs Cut Under Trump

UP NEXT

Where the Redistricting Wars Might Go After Texas

UP NEXT

Israel Faces Backlash at Home and Abroad Over Gaza War Escalation Plan

UP NEXT

Wall Street Gains as Trump’s Interim Fed Choice Stokes Dovish Bets

UP NEXT

US, Russia Plan Truce Deal That Would Cement Putin’s Gains in Ukraine, Bloomberg Reports

UP NEXT

US Issues New Iran-Related Sanctions, Treasury Says

Want to Work at Big Fresno Fair? Annual Jobs Event is Thursday

6 hours ago

EJ Warner Named Fresno State Starting QB, Gets Shout-Out From His Dad

7 hours ago

Targeted Israeli Rocket Strike Kills Al Jazeera Journalists in Gaza

7 hours ago

Landmark Trial Starts Over Trump’s Use of National Guard in LA

8 hours ago

Eric Grant Is New US Attorney for Region That Includes Fresno

9 hours ago

Trump Says Both Sides in Ukraine War Will Need to Cede Territory

9 hours ago

Gifford Fire Grows to Nearly 120,000 Acres With 33% Containment

10 hours ago

US CDC Tightens Safety Measures After Gunman Kills Officer in Atlanta

10 hours ago

Sen. Klobuchar Is a Democratic Bellwether, and She’s Changing Her Tune on Israel

11 hours ago

California Supreme Court Hands Victory to Rooftop Solar Panel Owners

12 hours ago

Fight Over Fresno Mobile Home Park Ends As Self-Help Enterprises Takes Over

After more than four years of turmoil, the legal fight over a mobile home park in north Fresno appears to be over as a Visalia affordable ho...

5 hours ago

5 hours ago

Fight Over Fresno Mobile Home Park Ends As Self-Help Enterprises Takes Over

Firefighters Spray Water on Site of US Steel Plant Explosion
5 hours ago

Explosions at US Steel Plant Leave One Dead, 10 Injured

6 hours ago

Israel Steps up Gaza City Bombing After Netanyahu’s Vow To Expand Offensive

Big Fresno job Fair
6 hours ago

Want to Work at Big Fresno Fair? Annual Jobs Event is Thursday

Fresno State Bulldogs Football QuarterBack EJ Warner
7 hours ago

EJ Warner Named Fresno State Starting QB, Gets Shout-Out From His Dad

Relative of Slain Al Jazeera Journalist
7 hours ago

Targeted Israeli Rocket Strike Kills Al Jazeera Journalists in Gaza

California National Guard Members Stand Guard During LA Immigration Protests
8 hours ago

Landmark Trial Starts Over Trump’s Use of National Guard in LA

9 hours ago

Eric Grant Is New US Attorney for Region That Includes Fresno

Search

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

Send this to a friend