China says it will ignore US ‘tariff numbers game’

Beijing | Reuters — China will pay no attention if the United States continues to play the “tariff numbers game”, China’s foreign ministry said on Thursday, after the White House outline how China faces tariffs of up to 245 per cent due to its retaliatory actions.

Why it matters: A trade war between the U.S. and China, a major importer of Canadian and American agricultural goods, may reshape global trade.

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In a fact sheet released on Tuesday, the White House said China’s total duties include the latest reciprocal tariff of 125 per cent, a 20 per cent tariff to address the fentanyl crisis, and tariffs of between 7.5 per cent and 100 per cent on specific goods to address unfair trade practices.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced additional tariffs on all countries two weeks ago, before suddenly rolling back higher “reciprocal tariffs” for dozens of countries while keeping punishing duties on China.

Beijing raised its own levies on U.S. goods in response and has not sought talks, which it says can only be conducted on the basis of mutual respect and equality. Meanwhile, many other nations have begun looking at bilateral deals with Washington.

Last week, China also filed a new complaint with the World Trade Organization expressing “grave concern” over U.S. tariffs, accusing Washington of violating the global trade body’s rules.

China this week unexpectedly appointed a new trade negotiator who would be key in any talks to resolve the escalating tariff war, replacing trade tsar Wang Shouwen with Li Chenggang, its envoy to the WTO.

Washington said Trump was open to making a trade deal with China but Beijing should make the first move, insisting that China needed “our money”.

— Reporting by Liz Lee and Shanghai newsroom

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