Within minutes of the United States hiking tariffs on all Chinese imports by 10 per cent, Beijing announced a slew of retaliatory measures in a bid to gain leverage in any future trade negotiations with Washington.
The moves unveiled on Tuesday included a 10-15 per cent increase in tariffs on certain US imports, export restrictions on some critical minerals, the addition of two US companies to a Chinese government blacklist, and an antitrust investigation targeting American tech giant Google.
China has also filed a complaint against the US levies with the World Trade Organization.
Although the steps taken by Beijing are more measured and targeted than the US’ across-the-board tariffs on Chinese goods, economists said China’s moves were carefully calibrated – as some of them will hit areas that US President Donald Trump most cares about.
“The combination of retaliatory tariffs with export bans, entity-list additions and antitrust probes suggests a more coordinated and comprehensive approach by policymakers compared with the 2018-19 US-China trade war,” economists from Goldman Sachs said in a note on Tuesday.
Which US products are covered by China’s 10-15 per cent tariff hikes?
According to Beijing’s announcement, eight goods imported from the US will face additional duties of 15 per cent, including coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG).