President Trump's trade war with China was escalated once again Friday morning, after Beijing hiked tariffs on U.S goods to 125 percent.
This time, however, China's Ministry of Finance said the new import tax rate would be final and it would no longer engage in the revolving door of tariff hikes. The updated tariffs are set to begin on Saturday.
“Even if the US continues to impose higher tariffs, it will no longer make economic sense, and it will become a joke in the history of the world economy,” Chinese officials wrote in a Friday release.
“Under the current tariff level, there is no possibility for the market to accept US goods exported to China," they continued. "If the U.S. continues to play the tariff numbers game, China will ignore it."
Instead, leaders signaled the nation would "resolutely" seek other countermeasures if the U.S. continues to "infringe on China's interests substantively."
Following in the footsteps of the Trump administration, Beijing previously raised the tariffs on U.S. goods by 50 percent — bringing the total tax rate to 84 percent. This came after China issued a 34 percent reciprocal tax on the U.S. after the president announced his "Liberation Day" tariffs last week.
In response to the retaliatory measures, Trump hiked import taxes on China to 125 percent, landing at 145 percent when added to the standing 20 percent tariffs.
The trade war between the world's two largest economies has shaken up trade in recent days, leading to an unstable market, worries about the impact on U.S. consumers and questions around a possible recession. The administration has
Topics in this Story
