China again vowed to “fight to the end” in an escalating trade war with the US as it announced tonight that it would raise tariffs on American goods to 84 per cent from tomorrow.
Beijing also added an array of countermeasures after US President Donald Trump raised the total tariff on imports from China to 104 per cent.
“If the US insists on further escalating its economic and trade restrictions, China has the firm will and abundant means to take necessary countermeasures and fight to the end,” the Ministry of Commerce wrote in a statement introducing its white paper on trade with the US.
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The Chinese government declined to say whether it would negotiate with the White House, as many other countries have started doing.
On Friday, China announced a 34 per cent tariff on all goods imported from the US, export controls on rare earths minerals, and a slew of other measures in response to Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs. Trump then added an additional 50 per cent tariff on goods from China, saying negotiations with them were terminated.
So far, China has not appeared interested in bargaining.
“If the US truly wants to resolve issues through dialogue and negotiation, it should adopt an attitude of equality, respect and mutual benefit,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Lin Jian said.
The paper says that the US has not honoured the promises it made in the phase 1 trade deal concluded during Trump’s first term. As an example, it said that a US law that would ban TikTok unless it is sold by its Chinese parent company violates a promise that neither would “pressure the other party to transfer technology to its own individuals”.
Trump last week signed an order to keep TikTok running for another 75 days after a potential deal to sell the app to American owners was put on ice. ByteDance representatives called the White House to indicate that China would no longer approve the deal until there could be negotiations about trade and tariffs.
The paper also argued that taking into account trade in services and US companies’ domestic Chinese branches, economic exchange between the two countries is “roughly in balance”.
It says that China had a trade in services deficit with the US of $US26.57 billion ($44 billion) in 2023, which is composed of industries like insurance, banking and accounting. Trump’s tariffs were designed to close trade deficits with foreign countries, but those were calculated only based on trades in physical, tangible goods.
“History and facts have proven that the United States’ increase in tariffs will not solve its own problems,” said the statement from the Chinese commerce ministry.
“Instead, it will trigger sharp fluctuations in financial markets, push up US inflation pressure, weaken the US industrial base and increase the risk of a US economic recession, which will ultimately only backfire on itself.”
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