(Photo: Gerd Altmann/Pixabay)
Should the United States push through with its plan to impose 25 percent additional tariffs on $200 billion Chinese goods, China will counterattack. The country in return will impose new levies on $60 billion a year worth of products imported from the United States.
China's threat comes two days after U.S. President Donald Trump instructed the Office of the United States Trade Representative to consider increasing the tariffs on $200 billion Chinese goods to 25 percent from the initial plan of 10 percent.
"Because the U.S. side has repeatedly escalated the tension, disregarding the interests of enterprises and consumers of both sides, China has to take necessary counter-measures to defend the country's dignity and the interests of the Chinese people, defend free trade and the multilateral system, and defend the common interests of all countries in the world," China's country's commerce ministry said in a statement seen by The New York Times.
The United States and China have an ongoing trade war where both parties imposed matching tariffs one after another. Both countries have imposed high taxes on products which include soybeans, home appliance, dried fruit, and handbags among others. The mounting trade war had even pushed BMW to sell its SUV models by 4 percent to 7 percent higher in China to cover the costs of delivering the SUV's to the country from its facility in South Carolina.
The US-China trade war started when Trump accused China of exploiting the United States in global trade. The Trump administration has also accused China of intellectual theft and illegal transfer of technology among others. Officials also say that the latter was not being transparent on its market dealings with other nations.
Amidst conflict in trade, Chinese State Councilor Wang Yi said that his country is willing to enter a resolution with the United States. His statement came after a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Aug. 3.
"As two members of the U.N. Security Council and the world's largest two economies, we should, of course, maintain talks at all times," Wang said according to a report from Reuters.
"Cooperation is the only correct choice for the United States and China. It's the universal expectation of the international community. The opposition can only bring dual loss and will hurt the peaceful and stable development of the world," he continued. Wang added that Pompeo was also accommodating during their negotiations and had, in fact, said he wants the conflict to be resolved in the immediate future.
