China has announced a sweeping increase in tariffs on American imports, raising them to 125 percent, as tensions between both economies deepen in what is fast becoming the most severe trade dispute in decades.
The move comes in response to President Donald Trump’s decision to ramp up duties on Chinese goods to 145 percent, escalating a long-running trade war that has already sent shockwaves through global markets and supply chains.
Beijing’s Finance Ministry slammed the United States’ latest action in a strongly-worded statement on Friday, calling the increase in tariffs “abnormally high” and accusing Washington of “unilateral bullying and coercion.”
“The US imposition of abnormally high tariffs on China seriously violates international and economic trade rules, basic economic laws and common sense,” the ministry said.
China, which remains the second-largest source of US imports, had been facing a 34 percent tariff when President Trump first introduced his global tariff programme. That rate has now surged through successive rounds of tit-for-tat levies, with the latest escalation pushing the US tariff burden on Chinese imports to a historic 145 percent.
Initially, China matched Washington’s tariffs with a 34 percent levy on US goods. As the battle intensified, the US raised tariffs to 104 percent, prompting Beijing to respond with 84 percent. The most recent increases mark the most aggressive measures yet.
Amid the growing economic warfare, President Xi Jinping has appealed to the European Union to join Beijing in resisting what he called “bullying” from the United States, warning that “there are no winners in a tariff war.”
Despite the spiralling standoff, President Trump struck a cautiously optimistic note on Friday, stating that he still hopes to secure a trade agreement with China.
