Beijing, the seat of power in
China, on Friday vowed to fight “unilateral U.S. protectionism at any cost”
after President Trump ordered officials to examine the situation and to impose
an additional 100 billion dollars in tariffs on Chinese goods.
“On Sino-US trade, China has made
its position very clear. We don’t want a trade war, but we are not afraid of
such a war,” a spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce told state-run news
agency Xinhua.
The ministry also vowed to take
“comprehensive countermeasures,” according to Xinhua, although it did not add
further details.
The comments echo the fiery
rhetoric in state and Communist Party-backed publications over the past week as
the standoff with the U.S. escalates into a possible all-out trade war.
In a statement on Thursday, Trump
said he had ordered the move “in light of China’s unfair retaliation” to U.S.
tariffs of 25 per cent on 50
billion dollars worth of Chinese goods he announced earlier this week.
“Rather than remedy its
misconduct, China has chosen to harm our farmers and manufacturers,” Trump
added.
“I have instructed the U.S. Trade
Representative to consider whether 100 billion dollars of additional tariffs would be appropriate under
section 301 and, if so, to identify the products upon which to impose such
tariffs.
“We are still prepared to have
discussions in further support of our commitment to achieving free, fair, and
reciprocal trade and to protect the technology and intellectual property of
American companies and American people.”
He also said he had ordered the
secretary of agriculture “to implement a plan to protect our farmers and agricultural interests.”
US Trade Representative Robert
Lighthizer has stated that Trump was “right to ask for additional appropriate
action to obtain the elimination of the unfair acts, policies, and practices
identified in USTR’s report.”
He also said the tariffs, like
those previously announced, would undergo a review period before going into
effect, leaving the door open for talks.
Trump’s tariffs have been
criticized by U.S. businesses and members of his own Republican party alike.
“The announcement that the
administration may issue 100 billion dollars in additional tariffs on Chinese
products is irresponsible and destabilising,” Dean Garfield, head of the
Information Technology Industry Council, said.
The National Retail Federation
accused the White House of “playing chicken with the economy.”
“This is what a trade war looks
like, and what we have warned against from the start. We are on a dangerous downward spiral and American
families will be on the losing end,” its president Matthew Shay said.
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