U.S. fires $34B tariffs salvo at China
WASHINGTON U.S. President Donald Trump began to slap tariffs on Chinese goods early Friday, the first shot in a trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.
Tariffs on US$34 billion of Chinese goods were to take effect at 12:01 a.m. in Washington, the U.S. Trade Representative confirmed Thursday. The milestone marks a new and damaging phase in a conflict that has roiled markets and cast a shadow over the global growth outlook.
In Beijing, policy-makers are digging in for what could be a protracted fight — one in which they say they won’t be the aggressor. Beijing has said retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods ranging from soybeans to pork would go into effect immediately after the U.S. acts.
With further tit-for-tat levies already threatened between the U.S. and China, some investors are concerned this week may mark the start of a trade war that spreads globally. Trump has already imposed tariffs on imported steel, aluminum, solar panels and washing machines.
The looming tariffs have prompted central bank officials to try to reassure investors. The European Union has taken a firm stance ahead of the escalation, with Bank of England governor Mark Carney saying that the rise of protectionism will affect trade flows and push up import costs.
“This is a dark day for economists. We’ve generally seen freer and freer trade since World War II, and now we seem to be reversing that,” David Dollar, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, said Thursday.