Trump announces new tariffs, china responds with counter measures.
china’s retaliatory import taxes on select American goods came into effect on Monday, escalating the trade war between the world’s two largest economies, while us president Donald trump warns of imposing tariffs on more Countries.
On Sunday, trump announced that he would impose a 25% tariff on all steel and Aluminum imports into the us, with a full announcement expected on Monday.
While speaking to reporters on air force one, en route to the super bowl, he also mentioned plans for reciprocal tariffs on other nations but did not specify which countries would be affected.
china’s latest tariffs on us goods include a 15% border tax on imports of us coal and liquefied natural gas products. additionally, there is a 10% tariff on American crude oil, agricultural machinery, and large-engine cars. Beijing announced the plan on 4 February, just minutes after the new us tariffs of 10% on all Chinese products came into effect.
last week, Chinese authorities initiated an anti-monopoly investigation into tech giant google, while PVH, the us-based owner of designer brands Calvin Klein and tommy Hilfiger, was added to Beijing’s “unreliable entity” list. additionally, china has imposed export controls on 25 rare metals, which are essential for various electronic products and military equipment.
over the weekend, trump announced plans to impose a 25% tax on steel and aluminum imports into the us, just days after finalizing agreements with Canada and Mexico to avoid similar tariffs on their goods.
china imported fewer than 1,10,000 vehicles from the us last year, but auto market analyst lei Xing believes the tariffs will significantly impact gm, which is introducing the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon in china, as well as ford, which exports the mustang and f-150 raptor pickup.
Stephen dover, chief market strategist and head of the franklin Templeton institute, a financial research firm, said china’s response appears calculated and measured. however, he noted that the world is preparing for further consequences.
“one risk is that this could be the start of a tit-for-tat trade war, potentially leading to lower GDP growth globally, higher us inflation, a stronger dollar, and upward pressure on us interest rates,” dover said.
