China urges US to ‘calm down’ as trade dispute escalates over new tariff threats | City A.M.
China has urged the US to ‘calm down’ after Donald Trump threatened to impose a 25 per cent tariff on $200bn (£153m) worth of goods as punishment for it not offering trade concessions.
Trump’s trade adviser Robert Lighthizer said the US president had taken the decision to up the levy from an original 10 per cent because China had refused to meet US demands and had responded to an earlier round of tariffs with retaliatory measures, when the US imposed tariffs on $50bn of its goods.
Lighthizer said China’s decision caused “further harm to US workers, farmers and businesses”.
“The increase in the possible rate of the additional duty is intended to provide the administration with additional options to encourage China to change its harmful policies and behaviour and adopt policies that will lead to fairer markets and prosperity for all of our citizens.
Read more: Jaguar Land Rover skids to £264m loss on China tariff changes
“The United States has joined forces with like-minded partners around the world to address unfair trade practices such as forced technology transfer and intellectual property theft, and we remain ready to engage with China in negotiations.”
Speaking to reporters in Singapore, Chinese diplomat Wang Yi responded by urging the US to “calm down”.
“We hope that those directly involved in the United States’ trade policies can calm down, carefully listen to the voices of US consumers…and hear the collective call of the international community,” he said, adding that pressuring China would not have “any effect”.
Earlier in the day foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang used equally strong language to warn the US away from what it termed “blackmail”.
“We would advise the United States to correct its attitude and not try to engage in blackmail. This won’t work on China,” Geng said.
China has already felt the wrath of tariffs on its goods. In July the Trump administration imposed 25 per cent tariffs on an initial $34bn of Chinese imports, provoking a strong reaction from Beijing who responded with retaliatory tariffs on the same value of US exports, such as beef and soybeans.
Read more: Trade war could ‘derail the global economy’