Posted on 26 Mar 2018
China is planning to impose tariffs on 128 imports from the US, including some metal products, in response to US tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
The commerce ministry could target products across seven categories such as seamless steel tube at a tariff of 15pc and “recycled aluminum products,” referred to as “scrap” in an official China Daily story, at a rate of 25pc. US wine, fruit and nuts were also listed.
If China and the US “can’t reach trade compensation agreements,” China will impose tariffs on the first part of the list of products, a commerce ministry spokesperson noted, adding that tariffs will be imposed on the second part after evaluating the US measures’ impact on China, according to the Chinese commerce ministry.
The Trump administration will start collecting blanket tariffs of 10pc on imported aluminum products and 25pc on imported products steel today from all countries which have not been granted either temporary or permanent exemptions. The US has formally exempted Canada and Mexico from the tariffs and is in talks concerning varying degrees of exemptions for the EU, Argentina, Brazil and Australia.
Separately, US President Donald Trump yesterday signed an order to counter “economic aggression” from China, ordering the US Trade Representative’s office to consider 25pc tariffs on $50bn worth of Chinese exports to the US. The measures would aim at countering China’s “unfair and harmful acquisition of US technology.”
