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China has increased tariffs by up to 25 percent on 128 U.S. products, from frozen pork and wine to certain fruits and nuts, escalating a dispute between the world's biggest economies in response to U.S. duties on imports of aluminum and steel.
The tariffs, which take effect on Monday, were announced late on Sunday by China's finance ministry and matched a list of possible tariffs on up to $3 billion in U.S. goods published by China on March 23.
Soon after the announcement, an editorial in the widely read Global Times newspaper warned that if the United States had thought China would not retaliate or would only take symbolic countermeasures, it could "say goodbye to that delusion".
"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 newspaper said.
The Ministry of Commerce said it was suspending its obligations to the World Trade Organization (WTO) to reduce tariffs on 120 U.S. goods, including fruit and ethanol. The tariffs on those products will be raised by an extra 15 percent.
Eight other products, including pork and scrap aluminum, would now be subject to additional tariffs of 25 percent, it said, with the measures effective starting April 2.
(Score: 4, Funny) by realDonaldTrump on Tuesday April 03 2018, @03:36AM (7 children)
In 2017 we had our biggest trade deficit ever with China. And we have large trade deficits with Mexico and Canada. But I've finally turned the page on decades of unfair trade deals that sacrificed our prosperity and shipped away our companies, our jobs and our nation’s wealth. The European Union, wonderful countries who treat the U.S. very badly on trade, are complaining about the tariffs on Steel & Aluminum. If they drop their horrific barriers & tariffs on U.S. products going in, we will likewise drop ours. Big Deficit. If not, we Tax Cars etc. NAFTA, which is under renegotiation right now, has been a bad deal for U.S.A. Canada must treat our farmers much better. Highly restrictive. Mexico must do much more on stopping drugs from pouring into the U.S. They have not done what needs to be done. Millions of people addicted and dieing. China has been asked to develop a plan for the year of a One Billion Dollar reduction in their massive Trade Deficit with the United States. Our relationship with China has been a very good one, and we look forward to seeing what ideas they come back with. In the meantime, maximum sanctions and pressure must be maintained at all cost. AMERICA FIRST!
(Score: 3, Insightful) by c0lo on Tuesday April 03 2018, @03:43AM
Not a problem, they heard you and started to treat you fairer. You happy now?
BTW, do you remember the "Most favoured nation clause" [wikipedia.org] era? Those times when tens of countries were "the most favoured" in the same time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 3, Funny) by qzm on Tuesday April 03 2018, @04:54AM (1 child)
EXACTLY!
After all that lovely generous tax that our megacorps have been paying to these tinpot countries.
Why do you think Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, etc, etc.. cannot afford to pay any tax in the US?
It is because of the huge amounts of tax they are generously pouring all over these other countries! they get sometimes get whole CENTS in the dollar of their citizens spending, very generous!
The fact that they are using this as a way to push their share prices up and therefore let the US shareholders avoid paying tax on those profits is of no relevance!
the way we have carefully engineered international IP and Tax law to create this loophole is meaningless!
American Exceptionalism gives us RIGHTS damnit! The right to do anything we want!
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 03 2018, @09:46AM
The mega-rich are "multinational", and indeed can play one country off against another, just as we often make choices using economics as a major factor.
The "race to the bottom" occurs when you have way too many people offering the same service, and the prices soar on natural or artificial shortages, the latter most often legislated by congresscritters as "whatever it takes" to do business with the rich. It would be unheard of for Congress to legislate that only one kid in town has the charter to mow lawns, of flip burgers, which would give him the opportunity to ask "market price" for his service and get out of bottom tier competition, but its quite common for Congress to legislate "rights" legislation chartering only specific "rightsholders" the legal "right" to perform other services.
So the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
And it will continue until it gets bad enough the poor flip the apple cart over, cause there is a helluva lot more sheep than there are shepherds.... and having a hundred angry sheep heading the shepherds is gonna make for a bad day for all, and the sad part is the whole shebang will likely be started over which sheep got a cucumber and which one got a grape.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 03 2018, @05:47AM (1 child)
If you count services and products together, I believe we have a trade surplus with Canada, actually.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by c0lo on Tuesday April 03 2018, @06:10AM
Time for Canada to search a new fairer deal with US, is this what you are suggesting?
(grin)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 3, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Tuesday April 03 2018, @11:53AM
>Mexico must do much more on stopping drugs from pouring into the U.S.
How much Mexican marijuana is being smuggled into Colorado these days?
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Tuesday April 03 2018, @06:16PM
And under Glorious Leader Trump our Trade Deficit has increased! [bloomberg.com]
Great job!