China plans to slap new tariffs on $75 billion worth of American products as retaliation against President Trump’s latest round of duties in the latest escalation of the trade war between Washington and Beijing.
The Chinese government said Friday it would impose additional tariffs of 5% and 10% on American goods, which will come Sept. 1 and Dec. 15. Beijing also plans to slap a 25% tariff on American automobiles and a 5% duty on auto parts, starting mid-December.
The levies from Beijing are set to be imposed on the same dates the president’s 10% tariffs on $300 billion in Chinese goods are scheduled to take effect.
Trump announced the new duties in early August, which effectively cover the remaining Chinese imports that had escaped tariffs and were scheduled to begin at the start of September. But the president delayed some of the levies until Dec. 15 in an effort to protect American consumers during the busy holiday shopping season and canceled others outright because of health, safety, and national security concerns.
The retaliatory levies from Beijing come before officials from the United States and China are set to meet next month for continued negotiations over a trade deal. But the latest round of tariffs indicate an end to the trade war may be far off.
In addition to the U.S. levies on Chinese goods scheduled for Sept. 1 and Dec. 15, the U.S. currently has duties of 25% on $250 billion worth of products imported from China.
The president has stood by his decision to impose tariffs on Chinese products despite receiving significant pushback from the business community, as many companies big and small are concerned they will be forced to raise prices on consumers to cover the cost of the duties or employ fewer people. But Trump has stressed that it is China, not U.S. consumers, that is paying the cost of the tariffs and has urged companies worried about the duties to move their manufacturing back to the U.S.
