The Trump administration is announcing a 25 percent tariff on $50 billion worth of Chinese imports, escalating a trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies.
President Donald Trump has vowed to clamp down on what he calls China’s unfair trade practices. China has said that it will retaliate with $50 billion in tariffs in response, rattling financial markets.
It comes in the aftermath of Trump’s nuclear summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (kim jawng oon) and his push for China to maintain economic pressure on the North.
Trump has already slapped tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada, Mexico, Europe and Japan, drawing a rebuke from U.S. allies.
China says it will retaliate against any move by the U.S. to impose punishing tariffs on tens of billions of dollars of Chinese goods.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Friday that China’s response would be immediate and that Beijing would “take necessary measures to defend our legitimate rights and interests.”
Geng gave no details but said both the foreign and commerce ministries had made formal responses to earlier U.S. statements.
Beijing has also drawn up a list of $50 billion in U.S. products that would face retaliatory tariffs, including beef and soybeans — a shot at Trump’s supporters in rural America.
Trump reportedly met Thursday with several Cabinet members and trade advisers and was expected to impose tariffs on at least $35 billion to $40 billion of Chinese imports.
