The U.S. reached agreement with officials in Mexico and Canada to delay the proposed tariffs President Donald Trump had threatened, getting leaders in both countries to provide additional help on immigration and fentanyl smuggling.
He did not reach a similar deal with China, imposing a 10% tariff on Chinese goods that went into effect Tuesday. And China wasted no time hitting back.
The Chinese government took several retaliatory steps, including additional tariffs on liquefied natural gas, coal, farm machinery and other products from the United States, which will take effect Monday. It also immediately implemented restrictions on the export of certain critical minerals, many of which are used in the production of high-tech products.
China also plans to investigate Google, which could impact its business dealings with Chinese companies.
Former U.S. trade negotiator Wendy Cutler told the New York Times the variety of measures were a signal from China. “This menu approach is not surprising,” she told the Times. “Beijing has been building its toolbox for some time.”
It’s not the first time Trump has impose tariff on China. In his first term, Trump slapped a 10- or 25-percent tariff on Chinese products, and this latest move adds a 10 percent tariff to more than $400 billion of goods that Americans purchase from China each year, particularly impacting computers and electronics, electrical equipment, and clothing.
According to the Times report, researchers at Capital Economics calculated that the Chinese tariffs would hit about $20 billion of U.S. exports — about 12 percent of what the United States sends to China each year.
“As far as I can see so far, it’s a relatively limited response, affecting no more than 30 percent of U.S. exports to China,” former World Bank official Bert Hofman, now an adjunct professor at the East Asian Institute at the National University of Singapore, told the Times. “They’re probably trying to keep their powder dry, because this could still be only the first step from the Trump administration.”
