Chinese and U.S. flags flutter near The Bund, before U.S. trade delegation meet their Chinese counterparts for talks in Shanghai, China July 30, 2019.
Aly Song | Reuters
BEIJING — China “firmly rejects” additional U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods and will take countermeasures, the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement Tuesday.
The duties will “hurt” U.S.-China trade relations and China urges the U.S. to withdraw them, the ministry said in Chinese, translated by CNBC. Beijing has previously warned of countermeasures, but has yet to detail any.
After the first round of new U.S. tariffs in February, China’s retaliatory measures included raising duties on certain U.S. energy imports and putting two U.S. companies on an unreliable entities list that could restrict their ability to do business in the Asian country.
The White House has confirmed that new duties of 10% on Chinese goods are set to take effect Tuesday, bringing the total amount of new tariffs imposed in just about a month to 20%.
The average effective U.S. tariff rate on Chinese goods is thus set to hit 33%, up from around 13% before U.S. President Donald Trump began his latest term in January, according to estimates from Nomura’s Chief China economist Ting Lu.
China’s state-backed Global Times reported Monday, citing a source, that Beijing was considering retaliatory tariffs on U.S. agricultural products.
U.S. exports of agricultural products such as soybeans to China account for the largest share of U.S. goods exported to China at 1.2%, or $22.3 billion, as of 2023, according to Allianz Research analysis.
Oil and gas ranked second by share at 1%, or $19.3 billion, the research showed. Pharmaceuticals ranked third at 0.8% or $15.6 billion.
China on Tuesday is also kicking off an annual parliamentary meeting known as the “Two Sessions.”
Policymakers are set Wednesday to reveal the annual gross domestic product target and fiscal stimulus plans for the year.
