Canada began imposing tariffs Sunday on US$12.6 billion in U.S. goods as retaliation for the Trump administration's new taxes on steel and aluminum imported to the United States. Some U.S. products, mostly steel and iron, face 25% tariffs, the same penalty the United States slapped on imported steel at the end of May.
The country that could indirectly benefit from the intensifying US-China trade war is Brazil, which finds itself in a strategic position to increase its market share of soybean exports to China.
The European Union (EU) has introduced retaliatory tariffs on US goods as a top official launched a fresh attack on President Donald Trump's trade policy. The duties on €2.8bn worth of US goods came into force on Friday. Tariffs have been imposed on products such as bourbon whiskey, motorcycles and orange juice.
U.S. protectionism is self-defeating and a “symptom of paranoid delusions” that must not distract China from its path to modernization, Chinese state media said on Friday. China has stepped up its war of words with the United States since President Donald Trump threatened on Monday to hit US$ 200 billion of Chinese imports with 10% tariffs if China retaliates against his previous targeting of US$ 50 billion in imports.
Global Times Editorial
The Trump administration announced tariffs on Chinese high-tech and industrial imports worth of US$50 billion. The first round, on imports totaling US$34 billion, will begin July 6, while the second round is still under review.
The following editorial on the current US/China trade war was published by the official news agency Xinhua,
Asian shares wobbled on Friday as investors braced for U.S. tariffs against China, while the Euro flirted with two-week lows after a cautious European Central Bank indicated it would not raise interest rates for some time. U.S. President Donald Trump has made up his mind to impose “pretty significant” tariffs and will unveil a list targeting US$ 50 billion of Chinese goods on Friday, an administration official said. Beijing has warned that it was ready to respond.
China said on Sunday it wouldn’t step up its purchases of United States products if President Donald Trump goes ahead with his threat to tax billions of dollars’ worth of Chinese imports. White House advisers insisted on fundamental changes in ties between the world’s two biggest economic powers.
The threat of trade protectionism is the biggest concern looming over a solid upswing in the global economy, IMF managing director Christine Lagarde said. The “darkest cloud” on the economic horizon is the “determination of some to actually rock the system that has actually presided over the trade relationships that we have all undertaken and enjoyed to some extent over the last many decades”, said Lagarde.
China has slapped extra tariffs of up to 25% on 128 U.S. products including frozen pork, as well as on wine and certain fruits and nuts, in response to U.S. duties on imports of aluminum and steel, China’s finance ministry said. The tariffs, to take effect on Monday, were released late on Sunday and matches a list of potential tariffs on up to US$3 billion in U.S. goods published by China on March 23.