China will impose customs duties on many American products on a reply in customs prices imposed by Donald Trump

China will impose customs duties on many American products on a reply in customs prices imposed by Donald Trump


An exchange between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his American counterpart Donald Trump was expected on Tuesday on the first day of the trade war between the two giants, marked by China’s replica on customs duties imposed by Washington.

On Monday, the White House said that Donald Trump was planning to speak with his Chinese counterpart in “24 hours”.

Since then, Beijing has announced that it will tax imports of hydrocarbons, coal and certain vehicles from the United States.

This is a replica at the entry into force on Tuesday of reinforced American customs rights targeting Chinese products, an escalation in the commercial showdown hired by Donald Trump.

In detail, China will impose customs duties from 15 % on February 10 on imports of American coal and natural gas (LNG), the Chinese finance ministry said.

10 % customs taxes will also be applied to imports of American oil and other categories of goods from the United States: agricultural machines, large displacement sports vehicles and van.

These measures were announced a few minutes after the entry into force of 10 % additional American customs duties on all products imported from China.

Mexico and Canada were initially also targeted by customs duties (25 %) from Tuesday. But Donald Trump granted them a one -month grace period on Monday after receiving commitments to strengthening border security.

Donald Trump presents these customs duties as a response to the influx of illegal and drugs in the United States. It denounces the lack of border control, accuses China of passivity in the face of production on its soil of chemical precursors of fentanyl, an opioid of murderous synthesis which is wreaking havoc in the United States.

These taxes promulgated by Donald Trump “does nothing to solve the own problems (in the United States) and disrupt economic and commercial cooperation” between the two countries, said the Chinese finance ministry.

Beijing announced that it had filed a complaint against Washington to the World Trade Organization (WTO), denouncing Washington’s “malicious” intentions.

China has also opened an anti-lonely investigation against the American technological giant Google, and announced that it has placed several American companies-the ready-to-wear group PVH Corp., which owns Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein, and the Biotech giant Illumina – On his list of “unreliable entities”.

“China had no choice but to retaliate,” Karen Zhang, 42, said from the seaside promenade in Shanghai to AFP.

“The United States has taken very hard measures with regard to China, which cannot be manhandled without doing anything,” she added.

Targeted replica

“The Chinese response is not aggressive, because China only targets certain products while American customs duties target all Chinese exports,” says Zhiwei Zhang, economist for Pinpoint Asset Management. “It is probably only about a long negotiation process between the two countries,” added the expert.

Donald Trump, who has said on numerous occasions that “Tariff” (customs law) was one of the most beautiful words of the dictionary, is readily recognized as a negotiation weapon to obtain political concessions.

Mexico notably undertook to send 10,000 additional soldiers to the border with the United States in order to combat illegal migration. Their deployment began on Tuesday, according to Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum.

Canada has promised to appoint an official entirely dedicated to the fight against fentanyl traffic, launching a joint intervention force with the United States against organized crime and registering Mexican cartels on his list of terrorist organizations.

The announced compromise convinced Ontario province, Canada’s economic lung, to give up on Monday evening to ban the American businesses of public contracts.

Mexico, Canada and China are the main business partners in the United States and represent more than 40 % of imports in the country.

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