China vows to hit back over US proposal for fresh tariffs

BEIJING/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – China accused the United States of bullying and warned it would hit back after the Trump administration raised the stakes in their trade dispute, threatening 10 percent tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods in a move that rattled global markets.

China’s commerce ministry said on Wednesday it was “shocked” and would complain to the World Trade Organisation, but did not immediately say how Beijing would retaliate in the dispute between the world’s two big- gest economies. In a statement, it called the US actions “completely unacceptable.”

The Chinese foreign ministry said Washington’s threats were “typical bullying” and described the dispute as a “fight between US officials on Tuesday issued a list of thousands of Chinese goods to be hit with the new tariffs. The top items by value were furniture at $29 billion of imports in 2017, network routers worth $23 billion last year and computer components to the value of $20 billion.

The list is subject to a twomonth public comment period.

Some US business groups and lawmakers from President Donald Trump’s own Republican Party who support free trade were critical of the escalating tariffs. The Republican-controlled Senate voted 88-11 in favor of a non-binding resolution calling for Congress to have a role in implementing such tariffs.

Republican US Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch said the US announcement “appears reckless and is not a targeted approach.” Republican US House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan accused China of unfair trade practices but added, “I don’t think tariffs are the right way to go.”

The US Chamber of Commerce has supported Trump’s domestic tax cuts and efforts to reduce regulation of businesses, but does not back Trump’s aggressive tariff policies.

“Tariffs are taxes, plain and simple. Imposing taxes on another $200 billion worth of products will raise the costs of every day goods for American families,” a Chamber spokeswoman said.