China accuses US of ‘double standards’ over tariff threat

Donald Trump’s newest menace to impose a further 100% tariff on Chinese language items is “a typical instance of US double requirements”, China’s authorities has mentioned.A Commerce Ministry spokesperson additionally mentioned China may introduce its personal unspecified “countermeasures” if the US President carries out his menace, including it was “not afraid” of a potential commerce warfare.On Friday, Trump hit again at Beijing’s transfer to tighten its guidelines for exports of uncommon earths, accusing China of “changing into very hostile” and attempting to carry the world “captive”.He additionally threatened to tug out of a gathering with China’s President Xi Jinping scheduled for later this month.Trump’s feedback on Friday rattled monetary markets, with the S&P 500 share index closing down 2.7%, its steepest fall since April.The president’s phrases renewed fears of a commerce warfare between the US and China.In Might, the 2 sides had agreed to drop triple-digit tariffs on every others’ items. which had raised the prospect of commerce halting between the 2 nations.This left US tariffs on Chinese language items going through an added 30% levy in contrast with the beginning of the yr, whereas US items getting into China face a ten% tariff.China’s newest remarks – launched by the Commerce Ministry within the type of written responses to journalist’s questions – echoed language from the peak of the latest commerce battle.They criticised US export restrictions on chips and semi-conductors in addition to defending China’s personal export controls on uncommon earths as “regular actions” to safeguard nationwide safety and that of all nations.The spokesperson mentioned that for “a very long time”, the US had “overstretched the idea of nationwide safety, abused export management measures” and “adopted discriminatory practices in opposition to China”.”Resorting to tariff threats will not be the best method to have interaction with China,” the spokesperson mentioned.”China’s place on a tariff warfare has all the time been constant: we don’t want one, however we aren’t afraid of 1.”Final week, China introduced it was tightening export controls on uncommon earths and different supplies crucial for superior tech manufacturing.This was seen as key transfer, because the nation processes about 90% of the world’s uncommon earths, that are utilized in items comparable to photo voltaic panels and smartphones.The latest feedback from Washington and Beijing are being seen by some as a way of strengthening positions forward of future commerce talks.It’s unclear whether or not a gathering between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, anticipated at a summit in South Korea later this month, will nonetheless proceed.