China has implemented a 10% tariff on imports of oil and agricultural machinery, as well as a 15% tariff on coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies from the United States.
This was reported by the Tariff and Classification Committee under the State Council of the People's Republic of China, as conveyed by chinanews.com.
This decision was made in response to the 10% tariff imposed by the U.S. on goods from China, which took effect on Tuesday, February 4.
“The unilateral imposition of tariffs by the American side seriously violates the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and not only fails to resolve its own issues but also undermines normal economic and trade cooperation between China and the United States,” the committee stated in a press release.
On February 1, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an order to impose tariffs on goods from Mexico, Canada, and China. He explained his decision as a measure to combat illegal immigration and smuggling, including the synthetic drug fentanyl, which comes from China.
However, Trump later agreed to postpone the tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada for a month.
China announced its intention to file a complaint with the WTO regarding Washington's actions. The Chinese Foreign Ministry stated that China has one of the strictest drug control policies and that the spread of fentanyl is an issue for the United States.
Trump himself indicated the day before that he planned to call Chinese President Xi Jinping “within the next 24 hours” to discuss postponing the implementation of the 10% tariffs.
“If we cannot reach an agreement with China, the tariffs will be very, very substantial,” the American president threatened.
China's export volume to the U.S. exceeds $400 billion per year. At the same time, many Chinese goods are already subject to tariffs of 10% and 25%. Beijing imports significantly fewer goods from other countries, including the U.S., than it supplies to their markets.
Background. Recall that Trudeau stated he had agreed with Trump to postpone the introduction of 25% tariffs “for at least 30 days.” In exchange, the Canadian Prime Minister promised to curb the flow of drugs into the U.S.