China raises import duties on US products

03/04/2018 05:58 AST

China raised import duties on a $3 billion list of US meat, apples and other products on Monday in an escalating dispute with Washington over trade and industrial policy.

The government of President Xi Jinping said it was responding to a US tariff hike on steel and aluminium. But that is just one facet of sprawling tensions with Washington, Europe and Japan over a state-led economic model they complain hampers market access, protects Chinese companies and subsidises exports in violation of Beijing’s free-trade commitments.

Already, companies are looking ahead to a bigger fight over US President Donald Trump’s approval of higher duties on up to $50 billion of Chinese goods in response to complaints that Beijing steals or pressures foreign companies to hand over technology.

Forecasters say the impact of Monday’s move should be limited, but investors worry the global recovery might be set back if other governments respond by raising import barriers.

Monday’s tariff increase will hit American farm states, many of which voted for Trump in 2016. Beijing is imposing a 25 per cent tariff on US meat and aluminium scrap and 15 per cent on wine, steel pipe used by oil and gas companies, and an array of fruits and nuts including apples, walnuts and grapes. American farm exports to China in 2017 totaled nearly $20 billion, including $1.1 billion of meat products.

There was no indication whether Beijing might exempt Chinese-owned American suppliers such as Smithfield Foods, the biggest US meat producer, which is ramping up exports to China.

The US tariff hike has “has seriously damaged our interests,” the Finance Ministry said in a statement. “Our country advocates and supports the multilateral trading system,” it said. China’s tariff increase “is a proper measure adopted by our country using World Trade Organization rules to protect our interests,” the statement said.

The White House didn’t respond to a message from The Associated Press on Sunday seeking comment.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on Monday that Trump wants to “make sure we’re that getting a good deal and we’re not taken advantage of anymore.” Asked on the television show “Fox and Friends” about the potential impact of the tariffs on Trump supporters, Sanders said the president was concerned about the trade deficit with China. She said Trump was “going to fight back and he’s going to push back.”

The Gulf Today