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AFP, BEIJING
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China yesterday vowed to “fight to the end” against fresh tariffs of 50 percent threatened by US President Donald Trump, further aggravating a trade war that has already wiped trillions off global markets.
Trump has upended the world economy with sweeping tariffs that have raised the specter of an international recession, but has ruled out any pause in his aggressive trade policy, despite a dramatic market sell-off.
Beijing responded by announcing its own 34 percent duties on US goods to come into effect tomorrow, deepening a showdown between the world’s two largest economies.
US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Monday.
Photo: AFP
The swift retaliation from China sparked a fresh warning from Trump that he would impose additional levies if Beijing refused to stop pushing back against his barrage of tariffs — a move that would drive the overall levies on Chinese goods to 104 percent.
“I have great respect for China, but they cannot do this,” Trump said in the White House on Monday. “We are going to have one shot at this… I’ll tell you what, it is an honor to do it.”
China swiftly hit back, criticizing what it called “blackmailing” by the US and vowing “countermeasures” if Washington imposes tariffs on top of the 34 percent extra that are due to come into force today.
“If the US insists on going its own way, China will fight it to the end,” a Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesperson said yesterday.
Beijing urged Washington to instead “adopt an attitude of equality, respect and mutual benefit” if it wanted to engage in talks.
A 10 percent “baseline” tariff on US imports from around the world took effect on Saturday, and a slew of nations are to be hit by higher duties from today, including the levy of 34 percent for Chinese goods.
Trump’s tariffs have roiled global markets, with trillions of US dollars wiped off combined stock market valuations.
The US president doubled down on Monday, saying he was “not looking” at any pause in tariff implementation.
Trump also scrapped any meetings with China over tariffs, but said the US was ready for talks with any nation willing to negotiate.
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said in an interview with Fox News on Monday that Japan would get “priority” in negotiations over the US tariffs “just because they came forward very quickly.”
Scores of nations have sought talks, Bessent said, adding that “through good negotiations, all we will do is see levels come down.”
While meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the first leader to lobby Trump in person over the levies, Trump said: “There can be permanent tariffs and there can also be negotiations, because there are things that we need beyond tariffs.”
