China on Thursday urged the United States to immediately cancel its latest tariffs and vowed countermeasures to safeguard its own interests.
This was after President Donald Trump declared sweeping levies on all US trading partners around the world.
In a statement, the Chinese commerce ministry said that the US' move disregards the balance of interests reached in multilateral trade negotiations over the years and the fact that it has long benefited greatly from international trade.
“China firmly opposes this and will take countermeasures to safeguard its own rights and interests,” the ministry said.
Recall that Trump on Wednesday announced that China would be hit with a 34% tariff, on top of the 20% he previously imposed earlier this year, bringing the total new levies to 54% and close to the 60% figure he had threatened while on the campaign trail.
With the new development, Chinese exporters, as with those from every other economy, will face a 10% baseline tariff, as part of the new 34% levy, on almost all goods shipped to the world's largest consumer economy from Saturday before the remaining, higher reciprocal tariffs take effect from April 9.
The US president also signed an executive order closing a trade loophole known as “de minimis” that has allowed low-value packages from China and Hong Kong to enter the US duty free.
