China is preparing to impose differentiated additional tariffs on $60 bn worth of imports from the United States, if the latter further escalates trade frictions, the customs tariff commission of China’s State council announced on July 3. The plan is to target 5,207 categories of US products with four levels of tariff rate percentages—25, 20, 10 and 5. Many of these goods are agriculture-related and others relate to various metals and chemicals.
These tariffs will apply if the United States further hinders bilateral trade by renewing tariffs on more Chinese products, official report quoting a statement by the commission. The statement follows a recent announcement by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) that it was considering increasing the proposed additional duty on $200 bn of Chinese products from 10 per cent to 25 per cent. The US already imposed additional tariffs on $34 bn worth of Chinese goods earlier in July, and China has responded in kind. A Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesperson said the date of implementation of the tariff measures will depend on US actions and China reserves the right to introduce other countermeasures.
