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The trade war between the US and China has escalated sharply: Beijing announced an increase in import duties on US goods to 125% in response to President Donald Trump’s recent decision to raise tariffs on Chinese imports to 145%. This was reported by Reuters and the BBC.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce said that such actions of the United States “grossly violate international trade norms” and “are a manifestation of economic intimidation and unilateral pressure”. At the same time, Beijing filed a complaint with the World Trade Organisation against the latest US measures.
The Chinese government also said that it would no longer respond to further customs initiatives from Washington, as “American goods have already lost market attractiveness” in the Chinese market due to the extremely high tariffs. However, experts do not rule out new steps in the confrontation.
President Xi Jinping’s comments came amid an escalation – during a meeting with the Spanish Prime Minister, he said that “there are no winners in a trade war” and called on the EU to join forces against “economic aggression”.
Beijing does not hide the irony: a spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce said that the US actions have turned the duties into a “digital game without economic sense” that “will soon become a global joke”.
