European countries are preparing to impose additional tariffs on US goods from April 15 in response to Trump's tariff policy
After China imposed a retaliatory tariff of 84 percent on the import of American goods, US President Donald Trump increased the tariff on Chinese goods to 125 percent.
Trump He announced a 104 percent customs duty on Chinese goods to be implemented from Wednesday morning. In response, China also announced tariffs on American goods. Soon after, Trump increased the customs duty even more. This has intensified the trade war between the world's two largest economies.
Trump's 'retaliatory' tariffs took effect Wednesday morning. China's materials were subject to the highest tariffs. The two countries have been in a trade retaliatory game, with Beijing vehemently opposing each new tariff imposed by Washington.
Since Wednesday, the trade war between China and the US has taken a new turn. European countries are also preparing to counter US President Trump's customs policy. The European Union is reportedly set to impose additional tariffs on US
content from April 15. China's Customs Tariff Commission issued a statement saying that the US raising tariffs on China is a mistake after mistake. "This has seriously undermined China's legitimate rights and interests and seriously damaged the rules-based multilateral trading system," the statement said. China has already warned that it will "fight to the end" if the US imposes more tariffs.
On Wednesday, Trump was originally set to raise tariffs on Chinese imports by 34 percentage points. But after Beijing did not back down from the confrontation, the president added another 50 percentage points. Before the latest round of increases, Trump had already imposed 20 percent tariffs on China.
The 'financial conflict' between these superpower economies has also brought volatility to the global stock market. Asian and European markets were mostly lower, while US shares saw a mixed effect.
'It's getting so ridiculous that it's hard to believe that there is such a clash between the two largest economies, which account for almost half of the world, and generate a global GDP of around 50 trillion dollars. A tariff war against the rest of the world is far from over," Peter Booker, chief investment officer at Bleakley Financial Group, wrote in a research note.
In addition to the tariff hike, China's Ministry of Commerce has also ordered export controls for 12 US companies. Chinese companies have been ordered not to supply those companies with dual military and civilian use. It also placed six more US firms on the 'Untrustworthy Entity List' and banned them from doing business or making new investments in China. It has also filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) against the latest US tariffs.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant called China's latest move "retaliatory" and said that it is unfortunate that China does not want to enter into negotiations for a customs agreement. He has termed China as 'the worst offender in the international trade system'.
The EU's announcement on Wednesday comes in response to a sharp increase in US tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports last month. "These countermeasures can be suspended at any time, if the US agrees to a fair and balanced negotiated settlement," the European Commission said.
