Beijing yesterday denounced US President Donald Trump’s threat of new tariffs on US$200 billion of Chinese goods as blackmail and said that it would respond with “strong countermeasures.”
Trump on Monday ordered the US Trade Representative to prepare new tariffs on Chinese goods, escalating a dispute over Beijing’s technology policy that companies worry could drag down global trade and economic growth.
“China apparently has no intention of changing its unfair practices related to the acquisition of American intellectual property and technology,” Trump said in a statement announcing the action. “Rather than altering those practices, it is now threatening United States companies, workers and farmers who have done nothing wrong.”
“These tariffs will go into effect if China refuses to change its practices, and also if it insists on going forward with the new tariffs that it has recently announced,” he added.
Beijing is ready to “defend the interests of the Chinese people and enterprises,” the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said, but gave no details.
“This practice of extreme pressure and blackmail deviates from the consensus reached by two parties through many negotiations, and it also disappointed the international community,” the forcefully worded statement said.
“If the US side becomes irrational and issues the list, China will have to adopt measures that are comprehensive measures in quantity and quality in order to make strong countermeasures,” it added.
Trump said that if China responds to this new round of tariffs, then he plans to counter “by pursuing additional tariffs on another US$200 billion of goods.”
It was not immediately clear when the new tariffs could be put in place, as the trade office has yet to identify the Chinese goods to be penalized or conduct a legal review. The first round of penalties announced by both nations is set to take effect on July 6.
The intellectual property sanctions were the latest in a spate of protectionist measures unveiled by Trump in recent months that included tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to the US and a tough rhetoric on trade negotiations from North America to Asia.
The escalation in the dispute with China might also serve as a warning to other trading partners with whom Trump has been feuding, including Canada and the EU.
Trump’s comments came hours after the top US diplomat accused China of engaging in “predatory economics 101” and an “unprecedented level of larceny” of intellectual property.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made the remarks at the Detroit Economic Club, adding that China’s claims of “openness and globalization” are “a joke.”
US-China ties are increasingly strained over complaints that Beijing’s industry development tactics violate its free-trade pledges and hurt US companies.
Europe, Japan and other trading partners have raised similar complaints, but Trump has been unusually direct about challenging Beijing and threatening to disrupt such a large volume of exports.
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