It’s War! How Will History Remember July 6?

China’s Ministry of Commerce claims it will take countermeasures in response to Washington’s new tariffs on US$34 billion of Chinese imports that took effect on July 6.

China believes the United States’ 25 per cent tariff hike on Chinese goods violates the WTO rules and has set off the largest trade war in history, “demonstrating a typical hegemonic attitude against the rules of world trade,” said the Ministry of Commerce on Friday.

Writing for the China Daily, Zhong Nan claims China will report to the World Trade Organization in a timely manner about the US action saying the US move on trade will slow down the pace of global economic recovery. Many Us economists and businessmen warn the tariffs will also hurt American companies and consumers.

“At the same time, China reiterates that we will unswervingly deepen reform, expand opening-up, protect entrepreneurship and strengthen protection of property rights to create a sound business environment for foreign companies in China. We will continue to assess the impact of tariffs on companies and take effective measures to help them,” according to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. “The US has kept provoking a trade war for months, not only with China, but also with the global supply and value chain.”

The US’ tariffs target Chinese goods from a range of sectors including aerospace, IT, auto parts and medical instruments. It could include printers and printer cartridges being made in China and being distributed in the USA.

China claims it will implement additional tariffs on some import products from the United States immediately after new US tariffs took effect at 12 pm Friday, the country’s customs authority said on Thursday. It plans to levy additional tariffs for 545 items, worth about $34 billion, including agricultural products, vehicles and aquatic products, starting July 6, 2018.