China said Monday it will impose tariffs on US$60 billion worth of US goods from June 1, in apparent retaliation after Washington announced plans to tax almost all Chinese imports.
Beijing will hit a number of American imports with tariffs ranging from 5 percent to 25 percent, according to a statement by the Tariff Policy Commission of the State Council — China’s cabinet.
The announcement came after the latest round of trade negotiations to resolve disputes between the world’s top two economies ended Friday without a deal.
US President Donald Trump has increased tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods to 25 percent and ordered the start of a process to impose new duties on another $300 billion worth of items.
The response was announced after Trump on Monday warned Beijing not to retaliate.
“China should not retaliate-will only get worse!” the US president wrote in a series of tweets on trade.
I say openly to President Xi & all of my many friends in China that China will be hurt very badly if you don’t make a deal because companies will be forced to leave China for other countries. Too expensive to buy in China. You had a great deal, almost completed, & you backed out!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 13, 2019
But Beijing also appeared to dig in.
“China will never surrender to external pressure,” foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a regular briefing Monday.
Global markets remain on red alert over a trade war between the two superpowers that most observers have warned could shatter global economic growth, and hurt demand for commodities like oil.
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