Chinese officials announced retaliatory tariffs aimed at the United States on Saturday that target American exports such as electric cars, soybeans, and whiskey. China’s\u2026<\/b>
\nChinese officials announced retaliatory tariffs aimed at the United States on Saturday that target American exports such as electric cars, soybeans, and whiskey.
China’s commerce ministry made the announcement in a statement, calling the Trump administration a \u00ab\u00a0provocateur\u00a0\u00bb on trade issues and warning that the country would \u00ab\u00a0fight back strongly,\u00a0\u00bb The Associated Press reports.
The tariffs, which will go into effect June 25, includes 25 percent duties on\u00a0soybeans, electric cars, orange juice, whiskey, lobsters, salmon and cigars, the finance ministry told the AP in a statement.
According to the report, the selected products were chosen to minimize their impact to the Chinese economy – namely items that can be imported from elsewhere\u00a0–\u00a0while also targeting U. S. exports from rural areas that voted more strongly for President Trump .
\u201cIn this trade war, it\u2019s the U. S. who is playing the role of provocateur, while China plays defense,\u201d Chinese state-linked newspaper Global Times reported.\u00a0\u201cChina is a powerful guardian and has enough ammunition to defend existing trade rules and fairness.\u201d
Saturday’s\u00a0move by China\u00a0follows a Friday announcement from the president of more U. S. tariffs on $50 billion worth of imports of\u00a0products focusing on China’s industrial sector, making good on a threat the White House has been making for months.
\u00ab\u00a0My great friendship with President Xi of China and our country\u2019s relationship with China are both very important to me,\u00a0\u00bb Trump said in a statement Friday.
\u00ab\u00a0Trade between our nations, however, has been very unfair, for a very long time. This situation is no longer sustainable,\u00a0\u00bb he added.
Chinese officials initially ripped Friday’s announcement, calling it \u00ab\u00a0damaging\u00a0\u00bb to the two countries’ bilateral interests.
\u00ab\u00a0This move is not only damaging bilateral interests but also undermining the world trade order,\u201d the statement said, adding that China\u00a0would \u00ab\u00a0immediately introduce taxation measures of the same scale and strength.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n