BEIJING: China will impose additional tariffs on certain US products starting from February 10, and the country has filed a lawsuit with the WTO against US tariff hikes, which came into effect on February 4.
Starting on February 10, additional tariffs including a 15 percent tariff on imported coal and liquefied natural gas originating from the US and crude oil, agricultural machinery, automobiles with large displacement and pickup trucks will be subject to an additional 10 percent tariff, said the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council on Tuesday.
On February 1, 2025, the US government announced a 10 percent tariff on all goods imported from China, citing issues related to fentanyl and other concerns. This unilateral imposition of tariffs by the US seriously violates WTO rules, and not only fails to address its own problems but also undermines normal economic and trade cooperation between China and the US, per the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council.
Also on Tuesday, China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said it has filed a case with the WTO dispute settlement mechanism to defend its legitimate rights and interests after the US announced to impose 10 percent additional tariffs on Chinese goods.
A ministry spokesperson said the US’ tariff hikes on Chinese exports seriously violate WTO rules, are malicious in nature, and a typical example of unilateralism and trade protectionism.
The US has repeatedly put unilateralism above multilateralism, incurring strong condemnation from the majority of the WTO members. As a staunch supporter and key contributor to the multilateral trading system, China is willing to work with other WTO members to jointly address the challenges posed by unilateralism and trade protectionism, in order to ensure the orderly and stable development of international trade, the MOFCOM spokesperson further noted.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday released a statement, which stated that China firmly deplores and opposes US tariff hikes and will take necessary countermeasures to defend its legitimate rights and interests.
China has taken necessary countermeasures in accordance with relevant laws and regulations and the basic principles of international law, which are completely justified and reasonable, a spokesperson with the Chinese Embassy in the US said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that the US tariff move undermines the foundation of China-US economic and trade cooperation and is bound to affect and undermine future counternarcotics cooperation between the two sides.
Zhou told media on Tuesday that the tariffs placed on some of the US’ comparatively competitive exports to China such as energy and certain categories of machinery will affect the performance of US companies, as the tariffs will affect their market share in China.
However, China’s countermeasures are meant to serve as a reminder to US policymakers and hopefully help them better reflect on the negative impacts of the tariffs they imposed, Zhou said.
Hu Qimu, deputy secretary-general of the digital-real economies integration Forum 50, told media on Tuesday that US’ imposing additional tariffs is bound to produce short-term shocks to the global industrial and supply chain with its induced price distortion, fueling inflation pressure for the US.
In addition to the two responses over US tariff hikes on Chinese products, China on Tuesday also announced three measures directly or indirectly related to US companies.
MOFCOM and the General Administration of Customs announced export controls on tungsten and other related items, imposing export controls on 25 rare metal products and their technologies, including ammonium paratungstate, which is effective on Tuesday, according to an announcement published on the MOFCOM website.
MOFCOM also announced on Tuesday that it has added two US companies, PVH Group and Illumina Inc, to the country’s unreliable entity list.
The two entities have violated normal market trading principles and terminated regular trade with Chinese companies, and adopted discriminatory measures against Chinese firms, seriously harming the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies, the ministry announced, adding that the move is aimed at safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests.
China’s State Administration for Market Regulation on Tuesday said that it has launched an investigation into Google for suspected violation of the country’s anti-monopoly law, noting that the investigation was launched in accordance with the law.
Wu Chenhui, an independent analyst who closely follows the critical minerals industry, told media on Tuesday the heightened export controls on rare metals could potentially impact the US high-tech and defense industries, which are highly reliant on imports. “It highlights the resourcefulness of the Chinese government’s toolkit in responding the US’ unilateral move,” Wu said.
Huo Jianguo, a vice chairman of the China Society for World Trade Organization Studies in Beijing, told the media on Tuesday that placing additional tariffs on Chinese goods will not help the US to address its own issues, including the fentanyl crisis. Such issues can only be addressed through dialogue and cooperation, Huo said.
Analysts warned that US’ blatant unilateralism and protectionism will only undermine world trade and global economic growth.
“Such unchecked actions will only cause catastrophe to global economic growth and trade,” Huo said.
Zhou said there are different alternatives for addressing fentanyl-related issues rather than wielding tariff stick, while dialogue and cooperation can yield better results in tackling the fentanyl issue.
