Trump begins trade war, Beijing vows to ‘fight back’

Washington/Beijing, July 6 

The US imposed punishing tariffs on Chinese imports on Friday, the first shots in what Beijing called “the largest trade war in economic history” between the world’s top two economies.

At the stroke of midnight Washington time, the US implemented 25% duties on about $34 billion in Chinese machinery, electronics and high-tech equipment, including autos, computer hard drives and LEDs. Beijing said retaliatory measures “took effect immediately”.

China did not immediately release details of the counter-tariffs but has previously said it would match the US measures dollar-for-dollar.

Today’s tariffs could just be the opening skirmishes in the trade war, as US President Donald Trump has vowed to hit as much as $450 billion in Chinese goods, the vast majority of imports.

Economists have warned that the tit-for-tat measures could throttle global growth and strike at the heart of the world trade system, causing shockwaves across the planet.

Months of dialogue between the two economic superpowers appeared to have failed, with Trump warning just hours before the tariffs came into effect that Washington was ready to impose duties on hundreds of billions of dollars more in Chinese imports.

Trump has for years slammed what he describes as Beijing’s underhand economic treatment of the US, with the US trade deficit in goods with China surging to $375.2 billion last year. — AFP