China on Friday said it was raising its tariffs on American goods to 125 percent, from 84 percent, retaliating for the third time in the escalating trade war between the two superpowers.
The announcement by the State Council, China’s cabinet, came after Trump administration officials clarified on Thursday that Chinese goods imported to the United States now face a minimum tariff rate of 145 percent.
China said its new tariffs would take effect on Saturday.
The world’s two superpowers have been engaged in a fast-moving tit-for-tat that has erected ever-higher barriers to trade over the past two weeks, shaking global markets and threatening economies around the world.
This week, President Trump reversed course on so-called reciprocal tariffs he had placed on dozens of countries but did not pause the mounting levies on China, choosing instead to raise the import taxes to 125 percent. The move followed Beijing’s decision to tax American goods at 84 percent.
The back-and-forth retaliation has forced American and Chinese companies that depend on the each other to abruptly slash orders and hope for some kind of détente.
Amid the confusion, the White House clarified on Thursday that tariffs on Chinese imports were now set at a minimum of 145 percent. Additional sector-specific tariffs have been imposed on imports of cars, steel and aluminum, as well as other goods that have been subjected to levies since Mr. Trump’s first presidency.
On Friday, China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, spoke publicly about tariffs for the first time since Washington and Beijing started hitting each other with progressively higher levies.
“There are no winners in a tariff war and going against the world will only result in self-isolation,” he said.
The Trump administration’s approach to China was a “numbers game which has no practical significance on economics,” a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Commerce said at news conference on Friday. “It’s become a joke,” said the spokesperson.
Zixu Wang contributed research from Hong Kong.
Alexandra Stevenson is the Shanghai bureau chief for The Times, reporting on China’s economy and society.
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