China’s decision to impose a 34 per cent tariff on all imports from the United States along with a raft of other measures removes any doubt that Donald Trump has triggered a global trade war.
The scale of Beijing’s response, announced on a public holiday for the annual tomb-sweeping festival, also makes clear that the Communist Party leadership is prepared for a brutal economic struggle with Washington.
The 34 per cent import duty matches the “reciprocal tariff” Trump imposed on Chinese goods this week, on top of a 20 per cent levy he announced a few weeks earlier.
“This practice of the US is not in line with international trade rules, seriously undermines China’s legitimate rights and interests, and is a typical unilateral bullying practice,” Beijing’s finance ministry said.
China’s customs authorities announced an immediate ban on imports of sorghum from one major US grain exporter and on imports of poultry and bonemeal from three other American companies. And the commerce ministry said it was banning the export of seven rare earths to the US.
“The purpose of the Chinese government’s implementation of export controls on relevant items in accordance with the law is to better safeguard national security and interests, and to fulfil international obligations such as non-proliferation,” the ministry said.
Trump put the US and China into a trade war during his first term in the White House but the two sides agreed a trade deal after an 18-month standoff. Beijing always expected a second trade war after Trump returned to office last January but the level of the tariffs he imposed on China this week was at the highest end of expectations.
Other countries in Asia, such as Vietnam and Cambodia, were hit even harder than China in the latest round of US tariffs. Japan and South Korea, Washington’s closest allies in Asia, have been hit with tariffs of 24 and 26 per cent respectively.
China’s tough response not only reflects its own calculation that it can only prevail against Trump by imposing a cost on his actions but also sets an example for other countries in a region Washington appears determined to cripple economically.
