Tensions between China and the United States continue. In response to Washington’s decision, on March 4, China announced the imposition of additional 10-15% tariffs on American imports. The tariffs will apply to American agricultural and food products.
In addition, China has imposed export and investment restrictions on 25 American companies to protect national security, although Beijing officials have chosen not to name specific names. As is known, 10 of these 25 companies have come under Chinese attention for supplying arms to Taiwan.
This decision by China is a retaliatory blow to the United States, which last week imposed an additional 10% tariff on Chinese products. As US President Trump has said, Beijing has been indifferent to the problem of large-scale drug imports from China to the US, which is the main reason for the tariffs.
According to the statement made on March 4, the additional 15% tariffs will take effect from March 10 and will target US chicken, wheat, corn, and cotton imported into China, while additional 10% tariffs will apply to products such as US soybeans, sorghum, pork and beef, aquatic products, fruits, vegetables and dairy products.
“The US unilateral tariff measures seriously violate World Trade Organization rules and undermine the foundation of economic and trade cooperation between China and the US,” the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said in a statement.
In addition, China has banned the import of genetic sequencing from US medical equipment manufacturer Illumina from March 4. The company has been added to China’s “untrusted entities” list. China’s commerce ministry said in a statement that Illumina had suspended transactions with Chinese companies and taken discriminatory measures against Chinese companies.
The tariff hike on China “is likely to hurt the US itself, as it needs cheap Chinese products to reduce inflation. High tariffs on US agricultural products will also negatively affect China,” but countermeasures are politically necessary. “It would be wise to take some symbolic steps without escalating tensions,” said Wang Zhuo, partner at hedge fund Zhouzhu Invest.
