As Trump pledges new duties, Beijing threatens 'to fight back at all costs’

The US president is considering duties on US$ 100 billion of Chinese imports after China threatened to impose US$ 50 billion in duties on US products. For both, the impact on the two economies will be very limited.

Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) – The US-China tariff war has reached a new crescendo. US President Donald Trump said he is considering duties on US$ 100 billion worth of Chinese imports, prompting China to respond by saying that it will “fight back at all costs”.

Trump's move is in response to Beijing's announcement that it would impose tariffs on about US$ 50 billion worth of US goods, including aircraft and soybeans.

In turn, China was responding to threats made at the start of the week by the Office of the United States Trade Representative to impose tariffs on Chinese imports worth US$ 60 billion.

The two countries say they are ready to talk and both have opened negotiations with the World Trade Organisation.

China accuses the United States of protectionism, whilst the United States accuses China of unfair treatment of foreign companies and intellectual property theft.

Analysts expect tariffs by both countries to have limited impact on their respective economies.

Official Chinese and US figures show that a 25 per cent levy on US$ 50 billion worth of goods would account for less than 1 per cent of China’s GDP and 0.6 per cent of US GDP.

• china
• united states
• trade war
• intellectual property
• donald rump
• xi jinping