China hits back – will impose higher tariffs on $3 bn-worth US imports

China unveiled plans on Friday to impose higher tariffs on USD 3 billion worth of American goods including pork and pipes in retaliation to US tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from Beijing, authorities said.

The measures suspending tariff concessions will target 128 US products including pork, wines and seamless steel tubes, the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement. According to the ministry, the measures will include a 15-per cent tariff on products including fruits, nuts, wines and seamless steel tubes, and a 25-per cent tariff on pork and recycled aluminium products.

The measures will be implemented in two stages. In the first stage, the 15-per cent tariff will be imposed if the two countries could not reach an agreement on trade issues within scheduled time. In the second stage, the 25-per cent import tax will be imposed after evaluating the impact caused by the US policies, state-run news agency quoted the ministry as saying.

The move was aimed at countering US decision to impose 25 per cent tariffs on steel imports and 10 per cent on aluminium, with initial exemptions for Canada and Mexico.

In August 2017, the US initiated an investigation into Chinese intellectual property and technology transfers under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.

Donald Trump announced plans to impose tariffs on up to USD 60 billion in Chinese imports and limit the investment in retaliation for years of alleged intellectual property theft. The White House said the actions were necessary to counter unfair competition from China’s state-led economy.

The move is a major escalation of the President’s ‘America First’ trade policy. President Trump is also calling for new limits on Chinese investment in U.S. technology, in an effort to protect what the administration calls America’s ‘economic seed corn.’

The tariffs are a response to longstanding complaints that China unfairly requires U.S. companies to share their technology as a cost of doing business in that country. The administration is also concerned that China is strategically acquiring innovative technologies through investments in the United States.

“Our view is that we have a very serious problem of losing our intellectual property, which is really the biggest single advantage of the American economy in my opinion,” U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said this week.

Aides described the $50 billion figure as a conservative estimate of what forced technology transfer and other moves by China cost the U.S. economy.

Trump signed a presidential memorandum Thursday directing his trade representative to dr
China unveiled plans on Friday to impose higher tariffs on USD 3 billion worth of American goods including pork and pipes in retaliation to US tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from Beijing, authorities said.

The measures suspending tariff concessions will target 128 US products including pork, wines and seamless steel tubes, the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement. According to the ministry, the measures will include a 15-per cent tariff on products including fruits, nuts, wines and seamless steel tubes, and a 25-per cent tariff on pork and recycled aluminium products.

The measures will be implemented in two stages. In the first stage, the 15-per cent tariff will be imposed if the two countries could not reach an agreement on trade issues within scheduled time. In the second stage, the 25-per cent import tax will be imposed after evaluating the impact caused by the US policies, state-run news agency quoted the ministry as saying.

The move was aimed at countering US decision to impose 25 per cent tariffs on steel imports and 10 per cent on aluminium, with initial exemptions for Canada and Mexico.

In August 2017, the US initiated an investigation into Chinese intellectual property and technology transfers under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.

Donald Trump announced plans to impose tariffs on up to USD 60 billion in Chinese imports and limit the investment in retaliation for years of alleged intellectual property theft. The White House said the actions were necessary to counter unfair competition from China’s state-led economy.

The move is a major escalation of the President’s ‘America First’ trade policy. President Trump is also calling for new limits on Chinese investment in U.S. technology, in an effort to protect what the administration calls America’s ‘economic seed corn.’

The tariffs are a response to longstanding complaints that China unfairly requires U.S. companies to share their technology as a cost of doing business in that country. The administration is also concerned that China is strategically acquiring innovative technologies through investments in the United States.

“Our view is that we have a very serious problem of losing our intellectual property, which is really the biggest single advantage of the American economy in my opinion,” U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said this week.

Aides described the $50 billion figure as a conservative estimate of what forced technology transfer and other moves by China cost the U.S. economy.

Trump signed a presidential memorandum Thursday directing his trade representative to draw up a long list of Chinese products to which the tariffs would be applied. The list will be made public in 15 days, and the tariffs would take effect after a period of public comment. The president suggested the total value of the tariffs could go as high as $60 billion.