Responding to Trump, China Plans New Tariffs on U.S. Goods
In announcing the planned tariffs, the Commerce Ministry said China would also
“take legal action within the framework of the World Trade Organization.”
The announcement, however, did not mention Mr. Trump’s latest round of tariffs aimed at Chinese-made goods, which the White House said Thursday was punishment for China’s use of pressure
and intimidation to obtain American technology and trade secrets.
By CHRIS BUCKLEY and SUI-LEE WEEMARCH 22, 2018
BEIJING — China announced Friday that it planned to impose tariffs on $3 billion worth of American-produced fruit, pork, wine, seamless steel pipes
and more than 100 other goods, hitting back at the United States hours after President Trump proposed tariffs on about $60 billion worth of Chinese-made products.
Notably, too, the list of 128 products that could be affected by Chinese tariffs did not mention soybeans, smartphones or other electronic products, leaving open the possibility
that they would be hit by another wave of Chinese retaliation in reaction to Mr. Trump’s latest tariffs, or set the stage for negotiations to avert a trade war.
The Chinese tariffs would “balance out the losses sustained by China through the United States’ increased tariffs on steel
and aluminum imports,” an unnamed Commerce Ministry spokesman said in the statement.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce issued the threat in an online statement
that said its proposed measures retaliated against the Trump administration’s earlier decision to impose tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum.
