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BEIJING (Reuters) – China will react if the United States takes new trade measures, Foreign Minister said on Monday after President Donald Trump said he is ready to impose tariffs on virtually all imports Chinese in the United States.
PHOTO: Chinese officials prepare flags for China-U.S. Bilateral Meeting at the G20 Leaders Summit in Hamburg, Germany on July 8, 2017. REUTERS / Carlos Barria / File Photo
On Friday, Trump said he is ready to levy additional taxes on virtually all Chinese imports, threatening tariffs of $ 267 billion on tariffs planned for $ 200 billion worth of Chinese products.
"If the United States stubbornly persists in taking new tariff measures against China, the Chinese side will inevitably take countermeasures to firmly protect our legitimate rights," Foreign Ministry spokesman said. , Geng Shuang. .
He did not elaborate.
The United States and China have activated $ 50 billion of additional tariffs on their products since July, with trade tensions between the world's two largest economies worsening, despite several rounds of negotiations.
Trump criticized China's record trade surplus with the United States and demanded that Beijing cut it immediately.
Tensions also persisted regarding US access to Chinese markets, intellectual property protection, technology transfer and investment.
In August, China submitted a $ 60 billion list of retaliatory tariffs on US goods, ranging from liquefied natural gas to certain types of aircraft, if Washington applied the tariffs on its $ 200 billion list.
The tariffs, ranging from 5% to 25%, would apply to 5,207 products, and measures taken by the United States will determine whether China adopts the additional duties, said Beijing at the time.
China has either imposed or proposed tariffs on US goods worth $ 110 billion, representing most of its US imports, although crude oil and large aircraft are still not subject to sanctions.
The $ 200 billion of Chinese products on the US list include consumer products such as cameras and recording devices, luggage, handbags, tires, and vacuum cleaners, with tariffs additional amounts ranging from 10 to 25%.
Spared so far, mobile phones, the largest US import from China, would be swallowed up if Trump activated the tariff list of $ 267 billion.
Trump's threatened tariffs cover a total of $ 517 billion worth of Chinese products, surpassing last year's merchandise imports of $ 505 billion.
China's official export data was surprisingly strong, with growth exceeding analysts' expectations for five consecutive months.
Report by Ben Blanchard and Ryan Woo; Written by Christian Shepherd; Edited by Clarence Fernandez
