An All-Out Trade War In The Offing? China Announces Retaliatory Measures Against United States In The Latest Episode

Bringing things a step closer to a massive trade war between the two countries, Beijing has retaliated against Washington by targetting high-value goods including crude oil, automobiles and farm produce, reports The Wall Street Journal.

Immediately after United States President Donald Trump announced the decision to impose 25 per cent tariff on $50 billion Chinese goods, China’s State Council announced its intentions to do the same by levying the same penalty on the same value of goods. Pledging to defend the eastern nation’s interests, a Chinese spokesperson said that the United States was “provoking the trade war”. China has chosen to imitate the United States in its tariff imposition – first by imposing the same tariff on the same amounts on the same dates. China will impose $34 billion 545 categories of American goods on 6 July.

Farm products were chosen to hit the American states that supported Trump’s plan according to the report. Trump has meanwhile said threatened an additional $100 billion retaliation on any new Chinese tariffs. He has said that the trade war was started two years ago by China and other countries.

The Trump administration has imposed tariffs on many of its allies including Mexico, Canada, Japan and Europe. Many large American firms have been caught in the crosshairs, claiming that tariffs were hitting their global supply chains.