China accuses US of 'blackmail' after Trump warns of increased tariffs
China’s officials condemned President Trump for his decision to add a 10 percent tariff on Chinese imports over the country’s alleged complicity in the international smuggling of fentanyl, a deadly synthetic drug.
“The fentanyl issue is just an excuse the U.S. uses to impose tariffs on, pressure and blackmail China, and they punish us for helping them. This will not solve their concerns. It is only counterproductive and will deal a heavy blow to the dialogue and cooperation with China on counternarcotics,” a Commerce Ministry spokesperson said in a Friday statement, declaring the tariffs violate the World Trade Organization rules.
He confirmed China would push back with countermeasures and steps “necessary to firmly defend” its interests.
“Pressuring, coercion and threat is not the right way to deal with China. Instead, mutual respect is the basic prerequisite,” the spokesperson said slamming Trump’s negotiation tactics.
The president said Thursday proposed tariffs on Canada and Mexico would go into effect next week alongside the 10 percent tariff on China’s imports, citing the influx of drugs from all three nations.
“Drugs are still pouring into our Country from Mexico and Canada at very high and unacceptable levels. A large percentage of these Drugs, much of them in the form of Fentanyl, are made in, and supplied by, China,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
“We cannot allow this scourge to continue to harm the USA, and therefore, until it stops, or is seriously limited, the proposed TARIFFS scheduled to go into effect on MARCH FOURTH will, indeed, go into effect, as scheduled. China will likewise be charged an additional 10 percent Tariff on that date,” Trump added.
Despite the president’s claims, China’s commerce minister lauded the nation as one of the “world’s strictest countries on counternarcotics.”
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