New Import Tariffs On U.S. Goods Planned By China As Trade War Nears


03/23/2018



Over 100 goods that include fruit, pork, wine and seamless steel pipes among others exported from the U.S. into China are being planned to be hit by retaliatory Chinese tariffs worth a total of $3 billion as approximately $60 billion worth of tariffs of Chinese goods exported into the U.S. was announced to be imposed by the Donald Trump government.
 
The latest tariff measures by China were a response to the earlier imposed tariff by the U.S. on steel and aluminum, said the Chinese Ministry of Commerce through an online statement. The measures and the timing of them however appeared to be in line as a warning shot by the Chinese for the latest announced new tariffs aimed at Chinese products by the U.S.
 
An unnamed Commerce Ministry spokesman said in the statement that the Chinese tariffs would “balance out the losses sustained by China through the United States’ increased tariffs on steel and aluminum imports”. “China urges the United States to resolve China’s concerns as soon as possible, resolve bilateral differences through dialogue and consultation, and avoid damage to the broader array of Chinese-U.S. cooperation”, the statement further stated.
 
A 15 percent tariff is being planned to be imposed by China on U.S. exported fresh fruit, nuts, wine, seamless steel pipes and other goods.
 
Additionally, pork which is an important export item from the U.S. to China, would be among other American made goods that could be further slapped by a 25 percent tariff if felt appropriate by Beijing. The statement also indicated that the proposed tariffs would only be imposed after March 31 as businesses and other concerned parties have been asked to respond to the proposals of tariff by that date.
 
“We do seem to be entering a trade war,” said Eswar Prasad, a senior professor of trade policy at Cornell University. “The U.S. has unsheathed its sword after an extended period of saber rattling and the Chinese are now unsheathing their weapons.
 
“I hope this will not spiral into a very broad set of sanctions on both sides,” Mr. Prasad added. “But I think, given Mr. Trump’s instincts and his very keen desire to deliver a political win whatever the political fallout might be, I don’t think it can be tamped down now.”
 
China would also “take legal action within the framework of the World Trade Organization”, said the Chinese statement.
 
There was no mentioned of the latest round of tariffs announced by the Trump administration aimed only at Chinese goods. 
 
And soybeans, smartphones or other electronic products were notably not mentioned in the list of American goods planned to by slapped with import tariffs by China. therefore there is a possibility that those goods, which are exported by U.S. companies in quite large numbers, could slapped the higher tariff as proposed b y the Chinese government in retaliatory measures against the latest round of tariffs imposed on Chinese goods by the U.S.
 
(Souorce:www.nytimes.com)