🗞 US tariffs: Beijing threatens with escalation in the trade dispute

US President Donald Trump is planning further punitive tariffs on imports from China. His threats seem to temper Beijing. The Chinese government announces countermeasures.

China threatens the US with escalation in the trade dispute. "Once a trade war begins, the big countries will not bow to the US," as quote of the Global Times said so on Thursday. "China has made huge efforts avoid a trade war, but if its breaks out, appeasement is not an option."

China also reject the demand of the US government to reduce its surplus in trade by $100 billion. The United States tries to present itself as a victim. "If the US wants to reduce its trade deficit, it has to make Americans work harder, and they have to do reforms in line with international market demand rather than telling the rest of the world to change."

China trading volume with the US was $636 billion in 2017, the largest volume of all partners. US President Donald Trump is bothered by the huge deficit of the US as imports from China surpassed exports, around $375 billion in the the last year.

Trump still follows his "America first" doctrine, hence he has tightened the course in the trade policy for recently. Anyway he is being accused by Europe and China for protectionism, a concept which doesn't fit well with modern trade. Trumps latest imposed protective tariffs on steel and aluminum imports could soon be introduced. According to information from the Reuters news agency, he also plans tariffs on Chinese imports, worth approximately up to 60 billion dollars.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange is being affected by for of a trade war. The leading index Nikkei lost 0.1 percent to 21,748 points in the afternoon, the Topix index fell almost 0.2 percent to 1,740 points.

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Source: Reuters, dpa, GT
Image: pixabay

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