China retaliates with tariffs on US goods

On Tuesday, China's Ministry of Finance also declared that imports of pick-up trucks, large displacement vehicles, agricultural equipment, and crude oil from the United States would be subject to a 10% tariff.

The new measures were in response to the “unilateral tariff hike” by the US, it said, adding that Washington’s decision “seriously violates World Trade Organization rules, does nothing to resolve its own problems, and disrupts normal economic and trade cooperation between China and the United States”.

Shortly after US President Donald Trump announced that he would speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping over the phone within the next day, Beijing announced its tariffs, which will take effect on February 10.

“China’s retaliatory tariffs are a calibrated response rather than an outright escalation,” Julien Chaisse, professor at City University of Hong Kong specialising in international economic law, said.

“The measures demonstrate Beijing’s willingness to impose economic costs on Washington while maintaining flexibility for negotiation.

“The choice of a February 10 start date appears strategic. It allows time for a possible discussion between Trump and Xi which is creating space for last-minute diplomacy before the measures take effect. If talks between the two, take place in the coming days, there is room for adjustments, partial exemptions or reciprocal gestures that could prevent a further spiral in trade tensions.

Due to China's enormous US trade surplus, Trump launched a vicious two-year trade war with it during his first term in 2018. Tit-for-tat tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of goods disrupted global supply chains and hurt the global economy.