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China Announces $60b of US Goods for Tariff Retaliation

China Announces $60b of US Goods for Tariff Retaliation
China Announces $60b of US Goods for Tariff Retaliation

China said it is poised to impose retaliatory tariffs on $60 billion worth of US imports, including coffee, honey and industrial chemicals, if Washington goes ahead with its latest trade threat.

China’s Finance Ministry accused the Trump administration of damaging the global economy after the US proposed increasing duties on $200 billion of Chinese goods in the second round of a dispute over technology, AP reported.

“China is forced to take countermeasures,” said a ministry statement. It said retaliatory duties of between 5 and 25% would be imposed on 5,207 products “if the US side persists in putting its tariff measures into effect.”

Washington imposed 25% duties on $34 billion of Chinese goods on July 6 in response to complaints Beijing steals or pressures companies to hand over technology. Beijing retaliated by imposing similar charges on the same amount of US products.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters Aug. 3 “instead of retaliating, China should address longstanding concerns about its unfair trading practices.”

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman had earlier called on Washington to “come to its senses” and settle the dispute.

Chinese leaders have offered to narrow their politically sensitive trade surplus with the United States by purchasing more American goods. But they have rejected changing technology development plans they see as a path to prosperity and global influence.

There’s no end in sight, and the dispute could chill global trade and economic growth.

The highest penalties on the new list would be imposed on honey, vegetables, mushrooms and chemicals, targeting farming and mining areas that supported President Donald Trump in the 2016 election.

The new list includes products as varied as snow blowers and 3-D printers, suggesting Chinese authorities are struggling to find enough imports their own economy can do without.

Beijing’s earlier round of tariffs appeared designed to minimize the impact on the Chinese economy by targeting soybeans and other goods available from Brazil, Australia and other suppliers.

Trump initially proposed 10% tariffs on an additional $200 billion of Chinese imports, but he told trade officials this week to consider raising that to 25%. It will be September at the earliest before the US decides whether to impose those tariffs.

Chinese authorities warned earlier that if the dispute escalated, they would adopt unspecified “comprehensive measures”. That prompted concern among American companies that retaliation might expand to disrupting their operations in China.

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