China accuses Donald Trump of sparking the ‘largest trade war in history’ and warns of massive ‘counterattack’ as £30bn tariffs begin
China has imposed its own tariffs on US products to the tune of $34bn, to match the US move, and accused Donald Trump of starting the 'largest trade war in history'
CHINA has accused the United States administration of launching the “largest trade war in economic history” today as American trade tariffs start.
A duty of 25 percent on $34billion £(25.6bn) worth of Chinese products came into effect in what looks like the opening salvo of a bitter trade war between the two economic giants.
US President Donald Trump said that up to $550bn (£414.5bn) of Chinese goods could be affected if Beijing "refuses to change its practices".
On Thursday Trump said: "You have another 16 [billion dollars] in two weeks, and then, as you know, we have $200bn in abeyance and then after the $200bn, we have $300bn in abeyance. OK? So we have 50 plus 200 plus almost 300.”
He has introduced the measure as part of his general strategy to “put America first,” protecting US jobs and stop "unfair transfers of American technology and intellectual property to China".
China immediately retaliated with tariffs on a similar amount of goods.
The Communist Party newspaper People's Daily said tariffs were imposed on a list of goods issued last month that included soybeans, pork and electric vehicles.
A spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce said while it had refused to "fire the first shot," it was being forced to respond after the US had “launched the biggest trade war in economic history.”
The spokesperson added: “The act is typical trade bullying. It seriously jeopardizes the global industrial chain… hinders the pace of global economic recovery, triggers global market turmoil and will affect more innocent multinational companies, general companies and consumers.”
Earlier today China said it had filed a second complaint to the World Trade Organization over the US' move to impose tariffs on Chinese goods.
The Commerce Ministry said in a brief statement on its website that Beijing submitted the WTO complaint Friday against measures taken by the US.
The move comes as China's Premier Li Keqiang called on Berlin to sweep aside barriers hindering Chinese firms' investment in Europe, urging German companies "not to be afraid" of cooperating with their Chinese counterparts.
Li's message, in an article for the Frankfurter Allgemeine, comes ahead of an intergovernmental summit in Berlin next week, when German manufacturers' concerns about loss of technological leadership to China are likely to be high on the agenda.
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Both Germany and China stand to lose from the impending trade war being pushed by Trump.
"(I hope) Germany changes its mind and creates a fair, open environment and a stable institutional framework for companies that invest in Germany or Europe," Li wrote in the opinion piece.
Along with China Trump has also started the heavy-handed tactics and threatened some of his Western allies with tariffs, most notably the EU and Canada.
Earlier today Russia said it would impose extra tariffs of between 25-40 percent on some US imports and said duties imposed by America could cost Russian exporters £537m (£405m).
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