Trade dispute China counters Trump's import tariffs
China has responded to Donald Trump's tariffs on imports from China with counter-tariffs. The Ministry of Finance in Beijing announced additional tariffs of 15 percent on coal and liquefied natural gas as well as an additional tariff of 10 percent on oil from the USA.
04.02.2025, 06:42
04.02.2025, 06:54
SDA
The tariffs are due to come into force on February 10. Beijing also announced an antitrust investigation into the US technology giant Google.
The deadline for averting new US tariffs against China had expired shortly beforehand on Tuesday. The White House announced on Saturday that the tariffs of an additional ten percent on Chinese imports would take effect on February 4 shortly after midnight Washington time (around 6 a.m. German time).
In contrast to Mexico and Canada, which reached an agreement with US President Donald Trump shortly before the tariffs came into force to suspend their introduction for 30 days, there was initially no such agreement with China.
Trump announces talks with Beijing
However, Trump stated on Monday that talks would be held with the Chinese side "probably in the next 24 hours". He had previously justified the tariff plans against China, Mexico and Canada by stating that these countries were not doing enough to combat the production and export of illegal fentanyl and its precursor chemicals.
In an initial reaction to the announced US tariffs, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced "countermeasures" and a complaint to the World Trade Organization (WTO) at the weekend.
Chinese economy under pressure
The two largest economies are threatening to head towards a new trade war like the one in 2018, when Trump also triggered a conflict by imposing tariffs during his first term of office. At that time, a process was set in motion in which China and the US imposed more and more tariffs on each other over a period of two years.
The higher US tariffs are a burden on China's export economy, as they make Chinese goods more expensive and therefore less competitive on the US market.
