• China threatens "countermeasures" to the war of duties. Trump: slip will help consumers
  • US tariffs on some Chinese products have slipped to December 15th
  • Trade war: Trump raises the war of duties against China

Share

August 23, 2019 He said he would be forced to retaliate . Confirmation has arrived today: China has decided to respond to the 10% tariffs that the US will impose from September 1 on 300 billion dollars of Chinese imports. It will do so by adopting new duties on 75 billion dollars of US imports, including on US-made cars.

The duties will range from 5 to 10% and will come into force with the same timing as the American ones: a first round from September 1 and a second from December 15 (the date on which the Trump government has decided to postpone, to save Christmas shopping , the entry into force of duties on smartphones, laptops, monitors, toys, video game consoles and certain items of clothing).

With its latest move, China actually decided to tax the remaining US imports that were not yet subject to duties. This is also a consequence of US actions, which will eventually tax all products arriving on US soil from China with the upcoming duties. The difference is that the Asian nation imports less than the US does, so its ability to harm Washington with customs tariffs is limited. It is no coincidence that Peter Navarro , the 'hawk' advisor of the White House, told Fox Business that "the amount of money that is subject to rates is not tangible in terms of macro growth". According to him, Chinese retaliation "absolutely" will not slow US growth.

However, China hits America so dear to Donald Trump, that of farmers and the manufacturing sector, for example by adding other duties of 5% to those already existing on soybeans and oil. The extra 25% duties that he had decided to suspend on cars imported from the US will resume on December 15th. Taking into account other duties of 10% for certain cars, Made in USA cars could be subject to duties up to 50%. The electric cars of the American Tesla and those of the German Daimler and BMW are the most vulnerable to these moves. It remains to be seen whether the Chinese delegation still intends to travel to Washington in early September for a new round of negotiations after the Shanghai round at the end of July.

The president's tweet: we don't need China
"Our country has stupidly lost billions of dollars with China over many years. They have stolen intellectual property from us. I will not allow that to happen. We do not need China. I will respond to China's afternoon duties."