China’s finance ministry on Friday said it will impose a 34% tariff on all goods imported from the U.S. starting on April 10, following duties imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration earlier this week, according to state news outlet Xinhua.
“China urges the United States to immediately cancel its unilateral tariff measures and resolve trade differences through consultation in an equal, respectful and mutually beneficial manner,” Xinhua cited the finance ministry as saying in a Google-translated report.
The ministry further criticized Washington’s decision to impose 34% of additional reciprocal levies on China — bringing total U.S. tariffs against the country to 54% — as “inconsistent with international trade rules” and “seriously” undermining Chinese interests, as well as endangering “global economic development and the stability of the production and supply chain.”
CNBC has reached out to the White House for comment.
Beijing, which also entertained a tenuous trade relationship with Washington under Trump’s first term, had warned that it would take “resolute counter-measures” to safeguard its own interests after the White House disclosed its latest sweeping tariffs on Wednesday.
The mutual levies are set to impact a trade relationship worth $582.4 billion in goods in 2024, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
U.S. stock futures fell to their session lows after China announced the retaliatory levies. Contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 900 points, or 2.2%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures dropped 2.3% and 2.6%. respectively.
European stocks also fell sharply on the news. The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index was 4.5% lower by 11:27 a.m. London time, extending earlier losses, with Europe’s banking sector falling over 9.5%.
— CNBC’s Katrina Bishop and Fred Imbert contributed to this report.
This breaking news story is being updated.
Read the full article here
