China to slap tit-for-tat tariffs on $16bn worth of US goods

BEIJING: China is slapping additional tariffs of 25% on $16 billion worth of US imports from fuel and steel products to autos and medical equipment, the country’s commerce ministry said, as the world’s largest economies escalated their trade dispute.

The tariffs will be activated on August 23, the ministry said, the same day that the US plans to begin collecting 25%extra in tariffs on $16 billion in Chinese goods. The US published its final list of goods subject to the tariffs on Tuesday.

China’s final list announced on Wednesday differs from an earlier draft it published in June, which included crude oil. The number of categories of goods subject to tariffs rose to 333 from 114 in the June draft, although the total value is unchanged.

The US action that prompted the Chinese retaliation was the latest by President Trump to put pressure on China to negotiate trade concessions, after Washington imposed tariffs on $34 billion in goods last month. China has vowed to retaliate with equivalent tariffs against any US action.

“This is a very unreasonable practice,” the Chinese commerce ministry said on Wednesday as it rolled out China’s counter-tariffs. Representatives for the White House, the US Trade Representative and the US department of commerce did not immediately reply to requests for comment.