China retaliated against US tariffs on Tuesday with up to 15% tariffs on select imports to begin Feb. 10.
President Trump was expected to speak with Chinese officials, perhaps in coming days, meaning the tenuous tariff chess game will change again.
China’s Finance Ministry said it will impose additional tariffs of 15% on coal and liquefied natural gas imports from the US. China will also levy 10% higher duties on American crude oil, farm equipment and some cars and trucks. It will also enact export controls on products related to critical minerals.
The actions by China come in reaction to 10% US tariffs on goods from China that took effect Tuesday. The US act of imposing 10% added levies “seriously violates the rules of the World Trade Organization” and “destructs the normal bilateral economic and trade activities,” China added.
The export controls could be more concerning to US security. They include control of technologies related to tungsten, tellurium, ruthenium, molybdenum and ruthenium.
Analysts said the moves by China indicate early stages of a US-China trade war that could be deepened.
China’s retaliation stands in contrast to reactions by Canada and Mexico to tariffs that were set to take effect Tuesday but were delayed by 30 days on Monday. As a result of discussion between their leaders and President Trump, both countries took steps to beef up security at their borders with the US in an effort to stem the influx of fentanyl from abroad into the US at the request of President Trump. Mexico plans to post 10,000 troops at its border with the US specifically to target smuggling of fentanyl and illegal immigration.
President Trump has repeatedly said the US tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico were intended as a reaction to the flow of fentanyl into the US, with the basic elements of fentanyl made in China. Peter Navarro, senior trade counselor to the president, said Monday that “Canada thinks that we are fighting a trade war with them. That’s not the case here. This is a drug war.”
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