Alwaght- China announced on Friday retaliatory tariffs on $60 billion of US goods in response to the Trump administration’s proposal of a 25 percent tariff on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports.
China’s finance ministry unveiled new sets of additional tariffs on 5,207 goods imported from the United States, with the extra levies ranging from 5 to 25 percent on a total value of goods less than a third of that proposed by US President Donald Trump’s administration.
The Global Times, a tabloid run by the official People’s Daily, said in a commentary that Beijing has restrained from mirror measures. “China’s countermeasures are rational … China will not rush to compete with US numbers.”
“The White House’s extreme pressure and blackmail are already clear to the international community,” said a state television commentary.
“Such methods of extreme blackmail will not bear fruit against China.”
The United States and China implemented tariffs on $34 billion worth of each others’ goods in July. Washington is expected to soon implement tariffs on an additional $16 billion of Chinese goods, which China has already said it will match immediately.
China has now either imposed or proposed tariffs on $110 billion in U.S. goods, representing the vast majority of China’s annual imports of American products. Last year, China imported about $130 billion in goods from the United States.
Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah said he met Pompeo in Singapore and that his message was clear.
“My objective was quite straightforward: I think I need to inform him that we are very concerned,” said Abdullah.
Countries like Malaysia form an integral part of Chinese exporters’ supply chains, and analysts have warned a trade war could knock billions of dollars off their economic growth in coming years.
