China yesterday vowed to take “all necessary countermeasures” after US President Donald Trump said he would impose an additional 10 percent tariff on Chinese imports.
Trump’s latest move would come into effect on Tuesday alongside sweeping 25 percent levies on Canadian and Mexican imports, intensifying a brewing trade war between the world’s two largest economies.
The 10 percent tariff on Chinese imports would come on top of an existing levy of the same rate imposed by Trump on China earlier this month.
Photo: REUTERS
Markets opening in Asia yesterday tracked losses across the world from the previous day, as fears grew that the trade spat would have wider economic repercussions.
Trump had announced — then halted — sweeping 25 percent levies on Canadian and Mexican imports last month over illegal immigration and deadly fentanyl, with Canadian energy to face a lower rate, but the month-long pause ends on Tuesday.
Following reporters’ questions on whether he planned to proceed with the tariffs next week, Trump on social media on Thursday wrote that until the problem of fentanyl stops “or is seriously limited,” the proposed levies would happen as scheduled.
“China will likewise be charged an additional 10 percent Tariff on that date,” he added, referring to Tuesday.
In response to Trump’s allegations that Beijing is contributing to the fentanyl crisis in the US, a Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesperson yesterday said that Washington was “shifting the blame.”
“China is one of the countries with the strictest and most thorough anti-narcotics policy in the world, but the US side has always ignored these facts,” the statement said.
“If the US side insists on going its own way, the Chinese side will take all necessary countermeasures to defend its legitimate rights and interests,” it said.
The statement also said that the tariff hike “is not conducive to solving [the US’] own problems,” adding that it would “increase the burden on American companies and consumers, and undermine the stability of the global industrial chain.”
China’s leadership are to convene next week to hammer out plans to shield its economy from Trump’s threats.
Trump’s threats have sent shivers through major exporter countries. Asian markets were all well in the red early yesterday, with Tokyo briefly shedding 3 percent.
Besides levies over fentanyl, Trump said that an April 2 date for so-called reciprocal tariffs “will remain in full force and effect.”
These would be tailored to each US trading partner, with details to come after government agencies complete studies on trade issues which Trump has called for.
STILL COMMITTED: The US opposes any forced change to the ‘status quo’ in the Strait, but also does not seek conflict, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said US President Donald Trump’s administration released US$5.3 billion in previously frozen foreign aid, including US$870 million in security exemptions for programs in Taiwan, a list of exemptions reviewed by Reuters showed. Trump ordered a 90-day pause on foreign aid shortly after taking office on Jan. 20, halting funding for everything from programs that fight starvation and deadly diseases to providing shelters for millions of displaced people across the globe. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has said that all foreign assistance must align with Trump’s “America First” priorities, issued waivers late last month on military aid to Israel and Egypt, the
France’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and accompanying warships were in the Philippines yesterday after holding combat drills with Philippine forces in the disputed South China Sea in a show of firepower that would likely antagonize China. The Charles de Gaulle on Friday docked at Subic Bay, a former US naval base northwest of Manila, for a break after more than two months of deployment in the Indo-Pacific region. The French carrier engaged with security allies for contingency readiness and to promote regional security, including with Philippine forces, navy ships and fighter jets. They held anti-submarine warfare drills and aerial combat training on Friday in
COMBAT READINESS: The military is reviewing weaponry, personnel resources, and mobilization and recovery forces to adjust defense strategies, the defense minister said The military has released a photograph of Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) appearing to sit beside a US general during the annual Han Kuang military exercises on Friday last week in a historic first. In the photo, Koo, who was presiding over the drills with high-level officers, appears to be sitting next to US Marine Corps Major General Jay Bargeron, the director of strategic planning and policy of the US Indo-Pacific Command, although only Bargeron’s name tag is visible in the seat as “J5 Maj General.” It is the first time the military has released a photo of an active
CHANGE OF MIND: The Chinese crew at first showed a willingness to cooperate, but later regretted that when the ship arrived at the port and refused to enter Togolese Republic-registered Chinese freighter Hong Tai (宏泰號) and its crew have been detained on suspicion of deliberately damaging a submarine cable connecting Taiwan proper and Penghu County, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement yesterday. The case would be subject to a “national security-level investigation” by the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office, it added. The administration said that it had been monitoring the ship since 7:10pm on Saturday when it appeared to be loitering in waters about 6 nautical miles (11km) northwest of Tainan’s Chiang Chun Fishing Port, adding that the ship’s location was about 0.5 nautical miles north of the No.
RSS