China retaliates against Donald Trump, announces 15-25% tariffs on US imports

China on Tuesday said it will impose 15% tariff on coal, LNG products, 10% on crude oil, and other products in response to Donald Trump’s tariffs, AP reported.

“The US’s unilateral tariff increase seriously violates the rules of the World Trade Organization,” China’s ministry of commerce said in a statement.

“It is not only unhelpful in solving its own problems, but also damages normal economic and trade cooperation between China and the US,” the statement added.

The 10% tariff that President Donald Trump ordered on China was set to go into effect Tuesday, though he planned to talk with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the next few days, the AP report added.

China’s State Administration for Market Regulation on Tuesday said it is investigating Google on suspicion of violating antitrust laws. While the announcement did not specifically mention any tariffs, the announcement came just minutes after Trump’s 10% tariffs were to take effect.

China slammed Trump’s tariffs

Earlier, Beijing while criticising Trump’s tariffs, said it “may be forced to take countermeasures” and stressed that there is “no winner in a trade war”.

“We are firmly opposed to this unwarranted increase and we do believe that this is in violation of the WTO (World Trade Organisation) rules,” PTI quoted China’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Fu Cong.

In response to a question about the Trump administration imposing 10 per cent tariffs on Chinese goods coming into the US, he said China is filing a complaint at the WTO and Beijing “may be forced to take countermeasures.”

On Saturday, the White House announced that Trump was implementing a 25 per cent additional tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10 per cent additional tariff on imports from China.

“President Trump is taking bold action to hold Mexico, Canada, and China accountable to their promises of halting illegal immigration and stopping poisonous fentanyl and other drugs from flowing into our country,” the White House had said.

The Chinese envoy emphasised that “there is no winner in a trade war and we do hope that the US should look at its own problems, really solve… find a solution that is beneficial to itself and also to the whole world.”

“Frankly speaking, I don’t think that raising tariffs is beneficial to the US itself,” Fu said.