China raised import duties on a $3 billion list of U.S. pork, apples and other products Monday in retaliation for the Trump Administration’s tariffs on steel and aluminum.
The measures announced Sunday matched a list of potential tariffs on up to $3 billion in U.S. goods published by China on March 23. Beijing is imposing a 25 percent tariff on U.S. pork and aluminum scrap and 15 percent on sparkling wine, steel pipe used by oil and gas companies, and an array of fruits and nuts including apples, walnuts and grapes. A total of 128 imported items were impacted.
The U.S. tariff hike “has seriously damaged our interests,” said a Chinese Finance Ministry statement. The tariff increase “is a proper measure adopted by our country using World Trade Organization rules to protect our interests.”s
The Global Times, a newspaper published by the ruling Communist Party, warned that “American politicians better realize sooner rather than later that China would never submit if the U.S. launched a trade war.”
“Even though China and the U.S. have not publicly said they are in a trade war, the sparks of such a war have already started to fly,” the editorial added.
In early March, Trump said he planned to apply steep tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. Since then, he has exempted numerous countries, but has not waived the impact on China.
China’s latest move targets farm areas, many of which voted for Trump in the 2016 presidential election. The American pork industry sent $1.1 billion in products to China last year, making the Asian country the third largest market for U.S. pork.
A bigger dispute looms over Trump’s approval of possible higher duties on nearly $50 billion of Chinese goods in a dispute over technology policy and possible further retaliations by China. The final list of products (up to 1,300) that will be subject to a 25 percent tariff placed on top of existing tariffs has not yet been released.
According to a letter signed by Outdoor Industry Association and other industry groups opposing the tariffs, China in 2017 accounted for about 41 percent of all apparel, 72 percent of all footwear and 84 percent of all travel goods imported into the U.S.
