China on Friday announced that it will impose a 34 percent tariff on imports of all the US products beginning April 10, part of a flurry of retaliatory measures following US President Trump, reports news agency AP. The new tariff, according to the report, matches the rate of the US reciprocal tariff of 34 percent on Chinese exports Trump ordered this week.
According to AP, the commerce ministry in Beijing also said in a notice that it will impose more export controls on rare earths, which are materials used in high-tech products such as computer chips and electric vehicle batteries.
“This practice of the US is not in line with international trade rules, seriously undermines China’s legitimate rights and interests, and is a typical unilateral bullying practice,” China’s State Council Tariff Commission said in a statement.
The customs administration of China has said that it has suspended imports of chicken from two U.S. suppliers, Mountaire Farms of Delaware and Coastal Processing. It said Chinese customs had repeatedly detected furazolidone, a drug banned in China, in shipments from those companies. Additionally, the Chinese government said it has added 27 firms to lists of companies subject to trade sanctions or export controls.
Since returning in January, Trump has levied two tranches of ten percent additional duties on the Chinese imports, which the White House reportedly said were necessary to stem the flow of illicit fentanyl from the country to the US. It means that the Chinese goods arriving in the United States would be effectively subject to 54 percent tariffs.
The retaliation from China in the latest round of the US tariffs is more sweeping than its earlier reciprocal actions.
