China’s new tariffs on US imports, like energy, oil, agricultural machinery and large vehicles, are set to take effect on February 10
China announced it will impose an import tax on US goods in response to President Donald Trump’s sweeping 10% duty on all Chinese imports.
China will levy a 15% tax on coal and liquefied natural gas and 10% on oil, agricultural equipment and large vehicle imports.
The Southeast Asian country will also place export controls on several metal products. Among those are critical minerals like tungsten and tellurium, which are used in defense missiles, solar cells, and electronics.
Beijing also launched an antitrust probe into Google and added Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein owner PVH Corp. and gene-sequencing giant Illumina Inc. to a regulatory blacklist.
Experts opine that China’s response is measured. The Chinese tariffs will target at most $20 billion of US annual imports (about 12% of the total). Meanwhile, the US tariffs apply to the more than $450 billion in Chinese goods to the US.
According to analysts, Xi wants to keep negotiations open. Meanwhile, President Trump has signaled interest in speaking with Xi.
These tariffs may serve more as a negotiation tactic than an all-out escalation.