Beijing, Apr 12: China on Friday raised its additional tariffs on imports from the US to 125 per cent in retaliation to the Trump administration’s 145 per cent levies on Chinese exports.The Chinese Commerce Ministry here said China raised additional tariffs to 125 per cent on imported US products, raising the levies from the previous 84 per cent.
China also filed a lawsuit with the WTO following the US tariff hikes, the commerce ministry said.
According to the latest US notification, the overall trade tariffs on China amounted to 145 per cent.
China earlier retaliated with 84 per cent levies and imposed restrictions on imports of some US films, expressing its interest in holding dialogue with Washington to resolve the issue.
China is the only country which retaliated against Trump’s tariffs.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit three Southeast Asian countries early next week to strengthen regional cooperation in his first tour abroad after US President Donald Trump slapped 145 per cent tariffs against China’s exports intensifying the trade war with Beijing.
Xi will pay state visits to Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia from April 14 to 18, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced on Friday.
All three countries are part of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) grouping with which China had the largest trade amounting to USD 962.28 billion last year, with China’s exports totalling USD 575 billion.
Many Chinese observers warned the competitive trade nature between China and its Asian neighbours — since they are all export-driven economies with the US being one of their key markets — could hinder Beijing’s efforts to rally them, a dilemma further compounded by territorial disputes on both land and sea.
Though Xi’s visits to these countries were on the cards for a while, the timing of the visits coincides with Trump’s tariffs against Chinese goods while pausing levies against the rest of the countries.
According to the latest US notification, the overall trade tariffs on China amounted to 145 per cent.
China retaliated with 84 per cent tariffs, imposed some restrictions on imports of some US films and expressed interest in holding a dialogue with Washington to resolve the issue.
China remained the only country which retaliated against Trump’s tariffs.
Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia were too hit hard by US tariffs but sought time to work out bilateral trade tariffs.
As Trump’s tariffs loomed large on China, Xi earlier this week sought to strengthen China’s strategic relationships with neighbouring countries by appropriately managing differences and enhancing supply chains.