China threatens retaliation after Trump hits it with highest U.S. tariff on any country
China said Thursday it would take all “necessary measures” to protect its legitimate interests after it was hit particularly hard by President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on U.S. trading partners around the world.
HONG KONG — China said Thursday it would take all “necessary measures” to protect its legitimate interests after it was hit particularly hard by President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on U.S. trading partners around the world.
Starting April 9, imports from the world’s second-biggest economy will be subject to an additional U.S. tariff of 34%, Trump said Wednesday at the White House, as he unveiled a long list of what he called reciprocal tariffs. That is on top of 20% in tariffs that he has imposed on China since taking office in January, bringing the total to 54% — the highest U.S. tariff on any country.
The president said the new tariffs — which he described as the biggest reorganization of the global economy since World War II — are aimed at reviving domestic manufacturing and rebalancing trade relations with a wide range of countries.
China said Thursday that it firmly opposed the tariffs and would take “necessary measures” to protect its interests.
“The U.S., under the guise of ‘reciprocity,’ has imposed tariffs on products from multiple countries, including China, which seriously violates WTO rules and undermines the rules-based multilateral trading system,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a briefing in Beijing.
Rating: 5