The trade war between the US and China has deepened following Beijing’s announcement that it will impose 25 per cent import duties targeting about 16 billion worth of US goods.
The Chinese Commerce Ministry yesterday said, the latest move is part of its response against the Trump administration’s decision to impose the same percentage of duties on Chinese imports.
The move will take effect immediately after the US imposes tariffs on Chinese goods on the 23rd of this month. The list of US imports affected by the taxes includes coal, oil, chemicals and some medical equipment.
Last month, the US had imposed duties of 25 percent on Chinese imports worth 34 billion.
The Trump administration is also considering further tariffs on another 200 billion worth of Chinese goods which could come into effect in September.
For its part, China has threatened to ratchet up the tit-for-tat trade war by slapping tariffs on another 60 billion of American imports.
US President Donald Trump started announcing new tariffs on imports in January as part of an attempt to negotiate what he called fair, bilateral trade deals that bring jobs and industry back onto American shores.
The first tariffs were imposed in March and China responded in April.