MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Tit for tat: China adds US$ 60bn of US imports to its tariff retaliation list

Beijing will impose levies on 5,207 US products - ranging from liquefied natural gas to certain types of aircraft as well as cocoa powder and frozen vegetables

China and the United States plunged deeper into a trade war on Tuesday after Beijing added US$60 billion of US products to its import tariff list in retaliation for President Donald Trump's planned levies on US$200 billion worth of Chinese goods.

The tit-for-tat measures are the latest escalation in an increasingly protracted trade dispute between the world's two largest economies.

On Monday, the US administration said it will begin to levy new tariffs of 10% on about US$ 200 billion of Chinese products on Sep 24, with the tariffs to go up to 25% by the end of 2018.

“China is forced to respond to US unilateralism and trade protectionism, and has no choice but to respond with its own tariffs,” the Finance Ministry said in a statement on its website on Tuesday.

Beijing will impose levies on a total of 5,207 US products - ranging from liquefied natural gas to certain types of aircraft as well as cocoa powder and frozen vegetables - at 5 and 10%, instead of previously proposed rates of 5, 10, 20 and 25%, the finance ministry said. Both countries' tariffs come into force on Sep 24.

So far, the United States has imposed tariffs on US$50 billion worth of Chinese products to pressure China to make sweeping changes to its trade, technology transfer and high-tech industrial subsidy policies.

Beijing has retaliated in kind, but some analysts and US businesses are concerned it could resort to other measures such as pressuring US companies operating in China.

While both sides said they were open to talks, Trump launched a Twitter broadside at China, accusing Beijing of targeting rural voters who had supported his presidency by hitting agricultural goods.

“China has openly stated that they are actively trying to impact and change our election by attacking our farmers, ranchers and industrial workers because of their loyalty to me,” Trump wrote.

It was not clear what statement from Beijing Trump was referring to in his post. A short video published this summer by Beijing had suggested that farmers would not vote for Trump if their incomes were hurt by his trade policies.

Trump warned on Monday that if China takes retaliatory action against US farmers or industries, “we will immediately pursue phase three, which is tariffs on approximately US$267 billion of additional imports.”

Trump's latest escalation of tariffs on China comes after several rounds of talks yielded no progress. US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin last week invited top Chinese officials to discussions. In light of the US action, China is reviewing plans to send a delegation to Washington for new talks, the South China Morning Post reported on Tuesday, citing a government source in Beijing.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Beijing was considering sending Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen to trade talks this month but not Vice Premier Liu He, a senior official who is close to China's president.
US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Tuesday the next step on holding “constructive negotiations” was up to China.