China prepares response to new 10% US tariffs

China is studying and developing appropriate countermeasures in response to the US threat to impose additional 10 percent tariffs on Chinese products under the pretext of fentanyl, a source told the Global Times , UNN reports.

Details

On February 3, Trump suspended the imposition of massive tariffs on the US's largest trading partners for a month after the leaders of Canada and Mexico announced new border security measures. However, Trump has recently caused confusion over whether they will go into effect after this grace period. In a post on social media on Thursday, he said that drugs from the United States' North American neighbors continue to arrive “at very high and unacceptable levels.

According to the source, the countermeasures are likely to include both tariffs and a number of non-tariff measures, and the list is likely to include American agricultural and food products.

“If the United States insists on imposing unilateral tariffs and officially announces retaliatory measures, China will definitely take strong and powerful countermeasures,” the source emphasized.

Addendum Addendum

On Thursday, US President Donald Trump announced on social media that the US will impose tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico starting March 4, and that “China will also be subject to an additional 10 percent tariff starting that date,” the Associated Press reports.

The US threat to impose an additional 10 percent tariff on Chinese products immediately provoked a reaction from several Chinese ministries. On Friday, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce of China (MOFCOM), asked to comment on the US plan, said that China is one of the toughest countries in the world in the fight against drugs, both in terms of policy and implementation, and China is engaged in international cooperation with other countries, including the United States, in the fight against drugs.

“China hopes that the United States will not repeat its mistakes and quickly return to the right path of settling differences through equal dialogue. If the United States insists on continuing its course, China will take all necessary countermeasures to protect its legitimate rights and interests,” the representative of the Ministry of Communications said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian also commented on the US threat to impose additional tariffs, saying that China condemns and opposes this step and will take all necessary measures to protect its legitimate interests.

Recall

Trump announced that he would impose 25 percent tariffs on imports from the European Union, saying that the bloc “was created to rob the United States.