The Chinese government said Wednesday it is prepared to impose a 25 percent tariff on $50 billion worth of U.S. goods such as soybeans, aircraft, beef, whiskey, cars, and chemicals.
China’s Ministry of Commerce said the pending trade barrier was a response to the Trump administration’s plan to hit $50 billion worth of Chinese goods with a tariff to protest what President Trump has said is unfair Chinese barriers to trade.
The two tariffs haven’t been imposed yet, but are a sign that the trade war between the two trade giants is heating up. The two announcements spooked U.S. equities market futures, which were down about 2 percent Wednesday morning.
China’s response came just hours after the U.S. Trade Representative announced its proposed target list of Chinese products, which included cars, aerospace products, and IT goods.
“Such unilateralistic and protectionist action has gravely violated fundamental principles and values of the WTO,” the Chinese Embassy in the U.S. said in a statement. “It serves neither China’s interest, nor U.S. interest, even less the interest of the global economy.”
“As the Chinese saying goes, it is only polite to reciprocate,” the Chinese Embassy in the U.S. said Wednesday.
