Beijing says it will impose an additional 34 percent tax on US goods from next week in retaliation for Washington’s tariffs.
China has announced a slew of countermeasures against tariffs imposed by United States President Donald Trump, including additional tariffs of 34 percent on all goods and curbs on the export of some rare earths, deepening an escalating trade war.
Trump on Wednesday announced that China would be hit with a 34-percent tariff, on top of the 20 percent he imposed earlier this year, bringing the total new levies to 54 percent.
On Friday, China’s Ministry of Finance said the additional tariffs would be imposed from April 10. Beijing has previously imposed tariffs of 15 percent on imports of coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US in retaliation for Washington’s 10 percent levies on Chinese goods.
It also announced stiff export controls on key minerals and businesses, limiting what could be exchanged with the US.
“The purpose of the Chinese government’s implementation of export controls on relevant items in accordance with the law is to better safeguard national security and interests, and to fulfil international obligations such as non-proliferation,” the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement.
On Friday morning, Trump responded to the slate of retaliatory measures with a fiery social-media post written in all capital letters.
