The Trump administration will impose a 25 percent tariff on up to $50 billion in Chinese goods, a decision that brought swift retribution from Beijing as trade conflicts between the world's two largest economies escalate. In a statement Friday, President Donald Trump said the measures will affect Chinese goods "that contain industrially significant technologies." The action comes "in light of China's theft of intellectual property and technology and its other unfair trade practices," he added. Trump noted that the White House could impose additional tariffs if China retaliates with duties of its own on American crops or other products. Beijing did just that on Friday. China's Commerce Ministry responded quickly to Trump's statement. "We will immediately introduce taxation measures of the same scale and the same strength. All the economic and trade achievements previously reached by the two parties will no longer be valid at the same time," China said in a statement translated by CNBC. The United States Trade Representative said the U.S. will initially impose a set of tariffs on 818 items worth about $34 billion on July 6. Separate measures affecting 284 products worth about $16 billion could take effect following a review and public comment process. China's retribution, meanwhile, will take the form of tariffs on 545 U.S. goods worth $34 billion on July 6. Those items will include agriculture and automobiles — politically sensitive sectors for Trump. Beijing's overall tariff plan will hit about $50 billion worth of 659 American goods.<doc-sep>China's government has said it will retaliate against US President Donald Trump's tariff hike by immediately imposing penalties of the "same scale" on American goods. The Commerce Ministry said on Friday it would also scrap deals made with Washington in talks aimed at defusing a much feared trade dispute. A statement did not indicate which US goods would be targeted, but China announced in April that products including soybeans, light aircraft, orange juice, whiskey and beef would be penalised. It read: "The Chinese side doesn't want to fight a trade war, but facing the shortsightedness of the US side, China has to fight back strongly. "We will immediately introduce the same scale and equal taxation measures, and all economic and trade achievements reached by the two sides will be invalidated." Advertisement :: Trump's global trade war: A timeline Mr Trump announced on Friday that a 25% tariff would be imposed on $50bn in Chinese imports. The move will escalate the trade dispute between the world's two largest economies and deepen the trade war between the US and a host of others, including the European Union. Image: China's president Xi Jinping Mr Trump has also previously warned of "additional tariffs" should China hit back. In a statement, he said: "The United States can no longer tolerate losing our technology and intellectual property through unfair economic practices. "These tariffs are essential to preventing further unfair transfers of American technology and intellectual property to China, which will protect American jobs." The tariffs cover 1,102 separate product categories, including jet engines, water pumps, and industrial dishwashers, according to the US Trade Representatives Office. It comes after an "exhaustive investigation" found that China's "acts, policies and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation are unreasonable and discriminatory, and burden US commerce", the USTR said. Image: Donald Trump last month announced tariffs on imports from the EU, Canada and Mexico US trade representative Robert Lighthizer said: "China's government is aggressively working to undermine America's high-tech industries and our economic leadership through unfair trade practices and industrial policies like Made in China 2025. "Technology and innovation are America's greatest economic assets and President Trump rightfully recognises that if we want our country to have a prosperous future, we must take a stand now to uphold fair trade and protect American competitiveness." The FTSE 100 had been hovering around 0.8% down but slid further to be just over 1% down in the minutes after the announcement, while the pan European STOXX 600 fell 0.6%. Wall Street stocks also fell in early trading following the news. Just a few weeks ago, Mr Trump brought in 25% tariff on steel and a 10% tariff on aluminium from the EU, Canada and Mexico, citing national security interests.<doc-sep>In a quick response to U.S. tariffs, Beijing announced on Friday its own duties on American products, including the politically sensitive areas of agriculture products and automobiles. The Chinese State Council's commission on tariffs and customs said in an online statement that a 25 percent tariff will take effect July 6 on $34 billion of U.S. goods. The list includes soybeans, electric vehicles, a range of hybrid electric vehicles, a variety of seafood and pork, according to the Ministry of Commerce. The tariffs counter the United States Trade Representative's announcement earlier on Friday that the U.S. will initially impose an additional 25 percent tariff on 818 Chinese imports worth about $34 billion on July 6. Duties on an additional $16 billion worth of goods from China will need to undergo public review. If approved, that would bring the total to $50 billion worth of Chinese goods.<doc-sep>
BEIJING (Reuters) - China will impose additional 25 percent tariffs on 659 U.S. goods worth $50 billion in response to the U.S. announcement that it will levy tariffs on Chinese imports, the Chinese commerce ministry said. Tariffs on $34 billion of U.S. goods including agricultural products such as soybeans will take effect from July 6, the ministry said. Soybeans are China’s biggest import from the United States by value. The tariffs will also be applied to autos and aquatic products, the ministry said. The list of 659 U.S. goods was longer than a preliminary list of 106 goods published by the commerce ministry in April, although the value of products affected remained unchanged at $50 billion. (here) Aircraft, included in the earlier Chinese list, were not on the revised list. The effective date of the tariffs on the remaining $16 billion of U.S. goods will be announced later, according to the commerce ministry. Among the affected $16 billion in U.S. goods include crude oil, natural gas, coal and some refined oil products. (here) U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Friday 25 percent tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese imports, in a move that looks set to ignite a trade war between the world’s two largest economies. Trump said the tariffs would be imposed on a list of strategically important imports from China. He also vowed further measures if Beijing struck back. “The U.S. has ignored China’s resolute opposition and solemn representation, and has insisted on adopting behaviors that violate WTO rules,” China’s commerce ministry said. “This is a violation of the legitimate rights and interests that China is entitled to according to WTO rules, and is a threat to China’s economic interest and security.”