Beijing began to impose tariffs on Monday to many agricultural products from the United Statesfor which China is the largest foreign market. It is the most recent escalation of a commercial struggle between the two greatest economies in the world.
The Chinese government announced the tariffs last week, shortly after President Donald Trump increased tariffs on Chinese products for the second time since he assumed the position in January. The tariffs of China will include a 15% lien to American products such as chicken, wheat and corn, as well as 10% on products such as soybeans, pig, beef and fruit.
Beijing said that the goods that would have already been sent before Monday and imported before April 12 would not be subject to new tariffs. Since cultures such as soybeans, wheat and corn, in particular, usually travel via sea, this means that Chinese customs officials will actually charge few tariffs until shipments arrive to China after leaving the United States on Monday or later.
A spokesman for the National Popular Assembly of China, which currently celebrates its annual legislative session, said last week that Trump’s last tariffs had “Disturbed the security and stability of world industrial chains and supply.”
The Chinese government also said that it was blocking 15 American companies the purchase of Chinese products unless they were granted a special permit, including a manufacturer of unmanned planes that supplies the US army. He also said he was going to prevent 10 other US companies do business in China.
Trump has argued that import tariffs are necessary from China, most of which are manufactured products, this in order for the United States to rebuild its industrial sector and also to generate fiscal income to the federal budget. At the beginning of February, a 10% tariff imposed almost all imports from China, and last week it raised it to 20%. He has said that these measures sought, in part, Press China to reduce the flow of fentanyl opioid to the United States.
Trump also imposed 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico last Tuesday, although he abruptly suspended many of those levies two days later.
It has added tariffs of 20% to Chinese products that the United States matters annually worth US $ 440 billion. The American middle tariff on Chinese products affected now rises to 39%, Faced with 3% who was in force when Trump began his first term eight years ago. Apart from China, Canada and Mexico, the United States applies average tariffs of about 3% to most countries.
Despite the recent climbing in the commercial war between Washington and Beijing, both parties have indicated that they could be open to negotiate. Last week, the Chinese trade minister told journalists that he had invited his US counterpart and the US commercial representative to a meeting. And last month, Trump said a new commercial agreement with China was “possible.”
Monday’s encumbrances are not the first time in the last weeks that China responds with the same currency to Trump’s commercial measures. After the US president imposed 10% tariffs at the beginning of February, China said it would impose tariffs on natural gas, coal and agricultural machinery bought from the United States.
But in a trade war the United States has more objectives because Americans buy many more goods from China than the Chinese from Americans. This allowed the United States to overcome China with relative ease after China imposed reciprocal tariffs on US products during Trump’s first mandate.
But MAO NO, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in the daily information session of the Ministry held on Monday that no one should impose additional tariffs. “Commercial wars and tariff wars begin all harming others and They end up detrimental to oneself: the United States should learn the lesson and change course“, said.
China now faces a more troubled internal economy than during the first mandate of President Trump. It is weighed by economic problems, such as the weakness of foreign investment and the aftermath of a real estate crisis.
Even so, China has other tools to manage the current commercial escalera. In the past, he has cut taxes to Chinese companies that export merchandise to the United States, which has allowed them to reduce prices and cushion the effects of an American tariff.
Chinese companies have also transferred the final assembly of their products to countries such as Vietnam and Mexico, countries with which the United States has maintained relatively free commercial relations in recent decades. But Trump has tried to close this loophole threatening to impose tariffs on Mexico.
And Chinese companies have tried to exploit the so -called Minimis standard, which exempts packages from tariffs if their value is equal to or less than $ 800. Trump has tried to take energetic measures against this practice, but its execution has been complicated, and Trump has largely suspended the effort.
This article was prepared for The New York Times Company by Zixu Wang collaborated with research from Hong Kong. Noam Scheiber and Keith Bradsher.