China warns US it will hit back against new tariffs
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The news: China’s Ministry of Commerce has said that the US should reverse its move to ramp up its tariffs on a range of Chinese imports.
The numbers: Earlier on Tuesday, US President Joe Biden announced plans to increase tariffs on USD18 billion ($27.16 billion) in Chinese imports across sectors the administration deems strategic to national security. The largest tariff increase Biden proposes is to electric vehicles, which will quadruple from 25% to 100% in 2024.
The context: The US tariffs will impact Chinese imports including steel and aluminium, solar cells, batteries, semiconductors, medical products and critical minerals.
A statement published by the Ministry of Commerce says that “China will take resolute measures to safeguard its own rights and interests […] The US should immediately correct its wrong actions and cancel the additional tariff measures against China.”
China accused the US of increasing the tariffs “out of domestic political considerations” and referred to the new tariffs as a “typical political manipulation,” given that Biden is ramping up his electoral campaign ahead of the US election later this year.
The statement continues: “This will seriously affect the atmosphere of bilateral cooperation."
While the White House has not yet commented on how it anticipates Beijing may choose to retaliate to the announcement, China has previously used counter-tariffs on US exports as a response.
