[ad_1]
China began imposing retaliatory tariffs after launching by the United States United States of a trade war / AFP
Beijing on Friday seized the World Trade Organization (WTO) to challenge the entry into force of US tariffs of 25% on 34 billion Chinese imports, estimating Trump administration responsible for triggering "the biggest trade war in economic history."
China had promised "not to fire the first" but warned: "to defend the country's basic interests and its population ", it will be forced to retaliate.
After announcing the immediate implementation of tariffs of 25% on an" equal "amount on some 540 American products, the Ministry of Commerce announced Friday the WTO action.
This is not a new complaint but an addendum to the one filed by the Asian giant to challenge the imposition, last March, of the punitive 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum, source said in Geneva
The new US tariffs, which came into force on Friday, affect 818 Chinese products including automobiles, hard disks or components planes but save popular products like televisions and phones.
A second batch of taxes on 16 billion imports will come into force soon, said Thursday Donald Trump, referring to a period of "two weeks." [19659004] – "Buy Chinese" –
In total, it is $ 50 billion of annual Chinese imports that will be affected by US measures, designed to offset what the Trump administration considers the "theft" of ownership intellectu IT AND TECHNOLOGIES BY CHINA.
The United States should not stop there because Donald Trump threatens to increase to 450 billion the value of Chinese products taxed, the vast majority of imports from the Asian giant (505, $ 6 billion in 2017)
US Taxes on Chinese Goods / AFP
Paradoxically, it was these same trade tensions that brought down the trade deficit the United States in May to 43.1 billion, its lowest level since October 2016 by boosting soybean exports to China (+ 89.6%) before this commodity is taxed.
For months, the prospect of a trade war, however, fears a halt to trade in goods across the planet, current engines of global growth.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, currently in Bulgaria, aa verti Friday that a "trade war does not benefit anyone."
In the streets of Beijing, consumers were also worried about possible price increases following taxes on US products. However, they say they are in solidarity with the authorities.
"I will do my best to buy Chinese", thus testified to Mr. AFP Mr. Yang, customer of a supermarket.
On the American side, the federation of retailers claimed that several products sold to The United States could see its prices rise, "the students having to pay more for the mini-refrigerator they will need at the university in the autumn."
– What consequences? –
This confrontation with Beijing is far from isolated. Since the beginning of the year, Donald Trump has multiplied protectionist measures against its trading partners, causing exasperation and concern.
The White House also imposes since June 1 tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum from Canada, the European Union, Mexico or Russia that brought the case to the WTO.
In the wake of these same countries, Moscow announced Friday the introduction of surcharges on a series of US products in response to tariff barriers on steel and aluminum
The majority of experts warn of the potential damage of such a policy, not only to the economy but also on the world economy.
The imposition of reciprocal taxes "will weigh on growth, confidence (households) and financial markets," reacted Friday economists Oxford Economics.
In recent weeks, American companies have warned that they could fire because they do not stay competitive or even go out of business.
These caveats left marble behind Donald Trump, who had swept the arguments Tuesday in a tweet. "The economy is probably doing much better than in the past, before we solve the problem of unfair trade agreements with each country," he said.
On the Chinese side, "the trade war will slow the growth of Chinese GDP by 0.2 percentage point" in 2018, said an official of the Central Bank, however, judging the impact "limited."
afp
Source link
