« The U. S. is opening fire on the entire world, including itself. »
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China called out the United States on Thursday for “opening fire” on the world with its looming tariffs, including $34 billion of which would be placed on Chinese imports set to go into effect on Friday.
“U. S. measures are essentially attacking global supply and value chains,” Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesperson Gao Feng said in a statement . « To put it simply, the U. S. is opening fire on the entire world, including itself,” Gao said.
“China will not bow down in the face of threats and blackmail and will not falter from its determination to defend free trade and the multilateral system,” the spokesperson added.
The Trump administration’s tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese imports is set to kick in on Friday, with the president threatening to impose at least $450 billion worth of Chinese goods if Beijing retaliates.
The president has praised the prospects of a potential trade war in the past, tweeting back in March: “When a country (USA) is losing many billions of dollars on trade with virtually every country it does business with, trade wars are good, and easy to win.”
However, critics worry a trade war could significantly impact a seemingly improving domestic economy.
“Nobody wins a trade war, especially in these globalized days,” Former White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten argued .
The World Trade Organization (WTO), who the president has also recently threatened action against, also warned the president about sparking trade wars.
“The WTO is clearly concerned at the announcement of U. S. plans for tariffs on steel and aluminum. The potential for escalation is real, as we have seen from the initial responses of others,” WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo said in a statement.
In June, motorcycle company Harley-Davidson announced it would be moving some of its production overseas due to the Trump administration’s hefty steel and aluminum tariffs — a move the president didn’t seem to appreciate.
“A Harley-Davidson should never be built in another country-never! Their employees and customers are already very angry at them,” Trump tweeted. “If they move, watch, it will be the beginning of the end – they surrendered, they quit! The Aura will be gone and they will be taxed like never before!”
William is a Senior Congressional and Breaking News Reporter for IJR. Prior to that, he covered politics and breaking news at AOL.com, leading the sit… more
