U.S. President Donald Trump said he was pushing ahead with hefty tariffs
on $50 billion (£37.6 billion) of Chinese imports on Friday, and the
smouldering trade war between the world’s two largest economies showed
signs of igniting as Beijing immediately vowed to respond in kind.
Trump laid out a list of more than 800 strategically important
imports from China that would be subject to a 25 percent tariff starting
on July 6, including cars, the latest hardline stance on trade by a
U.S. president who has already been wrangling with allies.
China’s Commerce Ministry said it would respond with tariffs “of the same scale and strength” and that any previous trade deals with Trump were “invalid.” The official Xinhua news agency said China would impose 25 percent tariffs on 659 U.S. products, ranging from soybeans and autos to seafood.
China’s retaliation list was increased more than six-fold from a version released in April, but the value was kept at $50 billion, as some high-value items such as commercial aircraft were deleted.
Shares of Boeing Co, the single largest U.S. exporter to China, closed down 1.3 percent after paring earlier losses. Caterpillar Inc, another big exporter to China, ended 2 percent lower.
Washington and Beijing appeared increasingly headed toward open trade conflict after several rounds of negotiations failed to resolve U.S. complaints over Chinese industrial policies, lack of market access in China and a $375 billion U.S. trade deficit.
Analysts, however, did not expect the U.S. tariffs to inflict a major wound to China’s economy and said the trade dispute likely would continue to fester.
China’s Commerce Ministry said it would respond with tariffs “of the same scale and strength” and that any previous trade deals with Trump were “invalid.” The official Xinhua news agency said China would impose 25 percent tariffs on 659 U.S. products, ranging from soybeans and autos to seafood.
China’s retaliation list was increased more than six-fold from a version released in April, but the value was kept at $50 billion, as some high-value items such as commercial aircraft were deleted.
Shares of Boeing Co, the single largest U.S. exporter to China, closed down 1.3 percent after paring earlier losses. Caterpillar Inc, another big exporter to China, ended 2 percent lower.
Washington and Beijing appeared increasingly headed toward open trade conflict after several rounds of negotiations failed to resolve U.S. complaints over Chinese industrial policies, lack of market access in China and a $375 billion U.S. trade deficit.
Analysts, however, did not expect the U.S. tariffs to inflict a major wound to China’s economy and said the trade dispute likely would continue to fester.
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