Announcing an additional 125 per cent tariff, China’s Customs Tariff Commission said, “Even if the US imposes higher tariffs, it would no longer make economic sense and ultimately go down as a joke in world economic history.”
China’s new tariffs of 125 per cent against US imports will be effective from Saturday, it said.
The announcement follows the US move to raise the “reciprocal tariffs” on Chinese imports to 125 per cent. The US later confirmed the total tariff on Chinese products was 145 per cent with the inclusion of 20 per cent levies announced by Trump soon after he took over power in January this year.
Trump’s heavy tariffs left China to wage a lone battle as he paused tariffs against all other countries.
Also, similar to previous tariff hikes, China has filed a lawsuit against the US with the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) dispute settlement mechanism, a Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesperson said.
While slapping additional measures, China, however, kept its door open for talks to resolve the issue. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian on Friday said if the US truly wanted to resolve issues through dialogue and negotiation, it must cease its maximum pressure tactics and reckless actions.
Any dialogue must be based on equality, mutual respect and benefit, he said, adding that if the US insisted on escalating tariff wars, China would resolutely respond to the challenge all the way.
