China says it will hit back at any new US tariffs
Beijing, China - China’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday it would strike back at the US if Washington moved forward with new tariffs on US$200bn of its exports.
“If the US launches any new tariff measures, China will have to take countermeasures to firmly ensure our legitimate rights and interests,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters during a regular press briefing.
The two countries have been embroiled for months in a trade conflict that has threatened to hurt consumers in both countries. US President Donald Trump has already imposed 25 per cent tariffs on US$50bn in goods from China.
Last week Beijing welcomed Washington’s offer to hold fresh trade talks and said the two sides were discussing details, providing some hope the world’s top two economies could step back from the brink of an all-out trade war.
But over the weekend the Wall Street Journal reported US President Trump planned to announce tariffs on US$200bn of Chinese goods early this week and that the move could cause Chinese officials to cancel the talks.
The US imports around US$500bn in goods from China.
“An escalating trade conflict serves no one’s interests,” Shuang said.
“We have always stated that negotiations on the basis of equality, honesty and mutual respect represent the only right way out of the current trade issue between China and the US,” said Shuang.
In response to Trump’s threatened tariffs, Beijing has teed up tariffs of five to 25 per cent on US$60bn of US goods.
Meanwhile, Trump said tariffs have bolstered the US bargaining position while cost increases to consumers have been negligible and warned of more levies as prospective trade talks with China appeared in doubt.
‘Tariffs have put the US in a very strong bargaining position, with Billions of Dollars, and Jobs, flowing into our Country - and yet cost increases have thus far been almost unnoticeable’, Trump said on Twitter on Monday. ‘If countries will not make fair deals with us, they will be Tariffed!’