China has fired back at the US with tariffs on American energy, vehicles, and equipment, escalating the trade war between the world’s two largest economies. The move comes after US President Donald Trump announced sweeping measures against major trade partners Canada and Mexico, with Chinese goods facing an additional 10% tariff.
Beijing has imposed levies of 15% on US coal and liquefied natural gas imports, while crude oil, agricultural machinery, big-engined vehicles, and pickup trucks will face 10% duties. This is a significant blow to the US, as China is a major market for American energy exports, with imports totaling over $7 billion last year.
China’s tariffs are in response to what it calls the “unilateral tariff hike” by Washington, which it claims “seriously violates World Trade Organisation rules” and disrupts normal economic and trade cooperation between the two nations. Beijing has also announced a probe into US tech giant Google and added US fashion group PVH Corp. and biotech giant Illumina to a list of “unreliable entities.”
The trade war has sparked fears of a global economic downturn, with markets slumping on Monday before recovering slightly on Tuesday. Trump has defended his tariffs as a necessary measure to punish countries for failing to halt flows of illegal migrants and drugs into the US.
In a surprise move, Trump announced a 30-day pause on threatened tariffs against Mexico and Canada after last-minute deals were struck to tighten border measures. However, tensions remain high, with Trump calling for Canada to become the 51st US state and Ottawa vowing to respond strongly to the tariffs.
