Trade war rages .. Chinese cartoons target US oil for the first time

The United States and China began on Sunday to impose reciprocal tariffs on their goods, in the latest escalation of the trade war between the two economic giants.

As of today, Washington has launched a 15 percent duty on imports worth up to $ 112 billion, including smartphones, Bluetooth headsets, as well as many kinds of shoes.

Increased tariffs on goods are likely to drive prices higher for US consumers in the medium term.

In contrast, China has begun to impose duties on some US goods on a target list of $ 75 billion. Beijing did not specify the value of goods to be charged higher as of Sunday.

Beijing imposed 5% and 10% surcharges on 1,717 goods out of a total of 5,078 US products. Beijing will begin collecting surcharges for the rest of the goods on September 15.

American crude
Among the duties, 5% is on US crude oil imports into China, which will drive down competition from other markets.

It was the first time US oil had been targeted since the world's two largest economies began their trade war more than a year ago.

China is the world's largest crude oil importer with an average of 10 million barrels per day and its second largest consumer after the United States with 12.5 million barrels per day.

The Trump administration said last month it would raise existing and planned duties by 5 percent on Chinese imports by about $ 550 billion after Beijing announced its retaliatory duties on US goods.

An additional $ 15 billion worth of $ 15 billion, including cell phones, laptops, toys and clothing, is due to take effect on December 15.

Donald Trump has delayed the activation of the surcharges, which were also due to come into force today, to avoid damaging Christmas sales.

Threats
The United States has phased in duties on goods worth $ 250 billion of China's total exports to the country, which range from $ 550 billion to $ 600 billion annually.

China has repeatedly threatened to apply countermeasures in its trade dispute with the United States if Washington pursues its trade policies.

This comes as trade teams from China and the United States continue talks and will meet in September, but Trump said the increase in duties on Chinese goods coming into effect on Sunday would not be delayed.

Bloomberg reported earlier in the day that there were no signs that Washington could back down in the coming days.

The intensification of trade war between the two countries disrupted the trade of goods worth hundreds of billions of dollars, and slowed the growth of the global economy and damaged markets.