China hits retaliation button, launching tariffs as trade war with US starts
Now that the first shots have been fired, what goods will be affected, who will pay the price and what could happen next?
After three rounds of failed talks, a trade war between the world’s two largest economies is on.
On Friday, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said China had imposed countermeasures after America’s tariffs came into force.
Lu Kang, a spokesman for the ministry, said China’s tit-for-tat measures “had taken effect immediately after the implementation of the US tariffs”.
Lu was speaking after Washington’s 25 per cent duties on US$34 billion worth of Chinese goods came into force earlier in the day.
China’s Ministry of Commerce had said earlier that China would fight back against the US and report to the World Trade Organisation.
“China will not fire the first shot, but is inevitably forced to strike back to defend the core interest of the nation and its people,” a statement from the ministry said. “We will report to the World Trade Organisation on a timely basis.”