China promises retaliation against the latest US tariff threat

China criticized the US threat to extend tariff increases to imports, including apples, fish sticks and French doors, as a "totally unacceptable" escalation of its commercial battle and promised Wednesday the protect its "fundamental interests". no details, but the Ministry of Commerce has already threatened "comprehensive measures". This caused fears that Beijing would more than offset US tax increases by harassing US companies in China

The ongoing conflict over Chinese technology policy threatens to curb global economic growth

to put back the technology and fears that the development plans of Chinese champions in robots and other fields will erode US industrial leadership.

The US Trade Representative announced Tuesday a second wave of tariff increases of $ 200 billion b) the list of Chinese products ranging from burglar alarms to mackerel. That happened four days after Washington added 25% duty on $ 34 billion of Chinese goods and Beijing reacted by raising its own taxes on the same amount of US imports

"It It is totally unacceptable for Americans to publish a tariff schedule in a way that accelerates and intensifies, "said a statement from the Ministry of Commerce. "To protect the fundamental interests of the nation and its people, the Chinese government will be forced to impose the necessary countermeasures."

The USTR said the latest action was in response to Beijing's failure to change its policies and retaliation obligations. President Donald Trump has threatened higher tariffs on more than $ 500 billion worth of goods, almost all of China's annual exports to the United States.

The USTR will accept public comments and hold hearings from August 20th to 23rd. 31, according to a senior US official who briefed journalists under cover of anonymity

The first US tariff schedule focused on Chinese industrial products to help mitigate the impact on consumers US. The final list is items purchased by US households, including electric lamps, apple juice and fish sticks.

Beijing's unbalanced trade balance with the United States means that it will quickly run out of imports for retaliation purposes. Last year, China imported 130 billion US dollars, and 34 billion US dollars were affected by Friday's price hike, while China can not match the new US tariffs, according to Vishnu Varathan, from the Mizuho bank.

Instead, its heavily regulated economy gives Beijing tools to disrupt the operations of automakers, food service chains and other US companies looking to boost revenue growth in China. Regulators can refuse or cancel licenses or block companies by launching tax, environmental or anti-monopoly investigations.

Companies are watching the US chip maker Qualcomm Inc., which has been waiting months for Chinese regulators to acquire NXP Semiconductors.

The economic impact of the conflict is already spreading.

The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said this week that its member companies are reorganizing their commercial shipments to ensure The United States does not pass through China

Congressmen are putting off more in addition to questioning Trump's aggressive trade policies, warning that tariffs on imports are raising prices for consumers and exposing US farmers and manufacturers to retaliation abroad. Orrin Hatch, Senate Finance Chairman, said in a statement

that investors had taken the trade war to their knees, but Tuesday's announcement seemed to dampen this optimism

. 1.2% while the Hong Kong main index lost 1.7% and the Shanghai Composite index fell 2.1%.

The conflict is "far from", warns Hannah Anderson of JP Morgan Asset Management in a report, "and the impact will be global."

– AP