Trade War with China

China strongly condemns and firmly opposes the United States tariff proposals and is ready to take countermeasures on U.S. products, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Wednesday.

A MOC spokesperson made the statement after the U.S. administration announced a proposed list of products subject to additional tariffs, which covers Chinese exports worth 50 billion U.S. dollars with a suggested tariff rate of 25 percent.

"Disregarding strong representations by China, the United States announced the tariff proposals that are completely unfounded, a typical unilateralist and protectionist practice that China strongly condemns and firmly opposes," according to the statement.

The proposed list covers approximately 1,300 products imported from China, including industries such as aerospace, information and communication technology, robotics, and machinery, the Office of U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) said in a statement.

The U.S. side published the list in disregard of the mutually-beneficial and win-win nature of the China-U.S. commercial cooperation in the past 40 years, the appeal of the Chinese and American business communities and the interests of consumers, it said.

The move went against the interests of China, the United States and the world economy, seriously violating the basic principles and spirit of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

China plans to immediately bring relevant U.S. practice to the dispute settlement body of the WTO, and is ready to take countermeasures on U.S. products with equal force and scale that will be published in the coming days.

"We have the confidence and ability to respond to any U.S. trade protectionist measures," the MOC spokesperson said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang also made a response Wednesday, saying the U.S. tariff proposals are "a typical unilateralist and protectionist action."

China strongly condemns and firmly opposes such action, Lu said.

"We hope that the U.S. side, with sense and long-term picture in mind, refrain from going further down the wrong path," the Chinese Embassy in the United States said in a statement on Wednesday.

Despite strong warnings from business groups and trade experts, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a memorandum on March 22 that could impose tariffs on Chinese imports and restrictions on Chinese investment in the United States.

The memorandum is based on a so-called Section 301 investigation, launched by the Trump administration in August 2017, into alleged Chinese intellectual property and technology transfer practices.

The move came after the U.S. administration took an increasingly hawkish turn on China, as it blamed its trade deficit with major trading partners for its domestic economic woes and job losses.

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In light of trade disputes between the United States and China, Australia stands to gain as Canberra can increase production or take price advantage to replace American companies in Chinese market, National Public Radio (NPR) predicted on Tuesday.

According to a report of NPR, the biggest radio network in the country, China was the largest trading partner of Australia. Australia produces many of the things which China also imports from the United States and appears on China's list of 128 U.S. goods.

China suspended tariff concessions on 128 items of U.S. products from Monday, which will see a tariff of 15 to 25 percent on products including fruits, pork and related products, in retaliation for the Trump administration's decision to impose similar tariffs on aluminum and steel from China.

The story said U.S. wine industry is facing a crisis now and will suffer long-term damage even though U.S. producers were already at a disadvantage to Australian competitors in China.

Current Chinese customs duties for U.S. wines are 14 percent, while wines from Australia is charged customs duties of 0 percent under bilateral free trade agreement.

In 2017, exports to mainland China, Australia's single-largest wine export region, grew up a whopping 63 percent, with a total value of 848 million U.S. dollars, nearly twice as large as the United States.

Robert Koch, CEO of the Wine Institute, was quoted by NPR as saying that the new increased tariff would have a chilling effect on U.S. wine exports to China, one of the world's most important and fastest-growing markets.

The report also listed Australia as the biggest competitor to the U.S. fruit and nuts exports to China since data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows 40 percent of the country's fruit already gets shipped off to China and tree nut exports to China have grown 10 times in five years to 63 million dollars in 2016.

"The market share that we've been trying to develop over the past several years becomes expendable and there's an opportunity for others to steal it," Joel Nelsen, president of the trade group California Citrus Mutual, told NPR.

The report said in sectors of scrap aluminum, steel and coal exports, Australia will have a good opportunity to grab a larger market share previously lost by Washington in a tariff dispute with China.

"It has been said often in the last few weeks: 'No one wins a trade war.' Nevertheless, staying out of a war is often the best way to win, or at least not to lose," the report concluded.

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Hendrik_2000 said:

China plan new 50 billion tariff on the Airplane Soy bean and car

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

China fires back, announcing tariffs on US planes, cars and soybeans
...

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Ultra said:

Its not hypothetical.

ITS PLAYING OUT RIGHT NOW IN FRONT OF YOUR EYES.

I think we should start a pool, let's see how much each combatant will suffer at the end of this trade war. The result will show up on the GDP in the next 2 years or more.

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China on Wednesday unveiled a list of products worth 50 billion U.S. dollars imported from the United States that will be subject to higher tariffs, including soybeans, automobiles, aircraft and chemical products.

The decision was made by the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council, involving a possible additional tariff of 25 percent on 106 items of products under 14 categories, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said on its website.

The move was taken after the U.S. administration announced a proposed list of products subject to additional tariffs, which covers Chinese exports worth 50 billion dollars with a suggested tariff rate of 25 percent.

"The date of implementation will depend on when the U.S. government imposes the tariffs on Chinese products," the MOF said.

PRODUCTS INVOLVED

The U.S.-proposed list covers approximately 1,300 products imported from China from industries such as aerospace, information and communication technology, robotics and machinery, the Office of U.S. Trade Representative said in a statement.

The proposed tariff list is based on a Section 301 investigation into alleged Chinese intellectual property and technology transfer practices launched by the U.S. administration in August 2017.

In response, China's list includes a wide variety of agricultural products such as soybeans, corn, beef, orange juice and tobacco.

U.S. soybeans sold to China account for 62 percent of its total soybean exports, with 32.85 million tonnes of soybeans exported to China in 2017, or 34.39 percent of China's total imports, Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao said at a press conference.

While U.S. farmers can get the benefits from healthy Sino-U.S. economic ties, the export amount to China was "too big," he said.

Chinese farmers have petitioned industry associations, claiming that U.S. subsidies hurt the interests of Chinese soybean growers, and China must respect its farmers' demands, Zhu said.

"That's why soybeans became one of our choices as a countermeasure," he added. China was forced to bring forward the product list, and there are grounds for the specific items and their order on the list, Zhu said.

A range of chemicals and automobiles, as well as certain aircraft, will also be subject to the tariffs, according to the list.

The Boeing 737 narrow body jet falls under the description and may have to face additional tariffs when entering China.

Boeing's shares plunged more than 4 percent in premarket trading Wednesday.

REACTION WITH "RESTRAINT"

"Disregarding serious representations by China, the United States announced tariff proposals that are completely unfounded, a typical unilateralist and protectionist practice that China strongly condemns and firmly opposes," the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said on its website.

The U.S. move was "an evident violation of rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO)," the MOC said.

Its measures "severely infringed on the legitimate rights and interests that China enjoys in accordance with the WTO rules, and threatened China's economic interests and security," the MOC said.

New tariffs China decided to impose on U.S. products were a reaction to "the emergency caused by the U.S. violation of international obligations," it added.

China has filed a request for consultations under the WTO dispute settlement framework over the U.S.-proposed list, the MOC said in a separate statement.

"China is an active participant, firm supporter and an important contributor in multilateral trade mechanisms," said the statement, citing an unnamed spokesperson.

"We hope and believe that the WTO dispute settlement body will deal with the case in an objective and just manner to safeguard rule-based international trade order," the spokesperson said.

The economies of China and the United States are highly complementary, and "cooperation is the only right choice for the two countries," the MOF said.

Since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1979, bilateral trade has surged more than 230 times to 580 billion dollars in 2017, data showed.

"I have to say that we were forced to take countermeasures, and we have reacted with restraint," Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen told reporters.

Both countries should stay rational, enhance communication and manage differences in a constructive manner, according to the MOF.

They should seek constructive measures to deal with problems and challenges so as to bring bilateral economic ties back to a healthy and stable track, Zhu said.

China does not want a trade war, as there will be no winners, according to Wang.

"But we are also not afraid of it. If someone insists on starting such a war, we will fight till the end," Wang said.

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ougoah said:

Why ask? Of course it is all true. All true and inexcusable.

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Jura said:

just looking; the context 47 minutes ago

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Jura said:

did they shout 'Fake!' at Monday at 7:49 PM
?

I think the official outlets either didn't bother or I missed it

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As the Chinese saying goes, it is only polite to reciprocate.

Hours after the U.S. administration announced proposed tariffs on products from China worth some 50 billion U.S. dollars, China unveiled countermeasures on Wednesday targeting the same value of U.S. goods.

This marked rare trade tensions between the world's top two economies, and may trigger a trade war if worse comes to worst.

China has stated it has the confidence and ability to deal with any U.S. protectionist measures, pledging to fight till the end if a trade war breaks out.

TIT-FOR-TAT RESPONSE A MUST-DO

The unilateral measures by the United States against China under its domestic Section 301 investigation fly in the face of international norms.

China has showed sincerity in seeking solutions through dialogue.

"However, the United States has repeatedly missed the best opportunities for an appropriate solution," China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said on Wednesday at a press conference.

At another press briefing, also on Wednesday, China's Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen said, "We don't want a trade war, but we are not afraid of it. If someone insists on starting a trade war, we will fight till the end."

"If people want to play tough, we will play tough with them, and see who will last longer," Chinese Ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai said in late March.

In the eyes of Tu Xinquan, a professor with the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, the U.S. move is "a very dangerous signal."

"Although 50 billion U.S. dollars of goods is not a big deal in bilateral trade, it is highly possible that such a vicious cycle will get worse," Tu told Xinhua.

The findings of the U.S. Section 301 investigation are a willful distortion of facts and full of selective assertions and allegations, turning a blind eye to the actual progress that China has achieved in market-oriented reforms, opening-up and enhanced intellectual property protection.

China's confidence and strength have improved by overcoming difficulties and dealing with pressure over 40 years of reform and opening-up, Geng said.

"MADE IN CHINA 2025" NO THREAT

Which of the world's top two economies has a more powerful manufacturing industry?

When responding to reports saying the U.S. tariff list targeted products that benefit from the "Made in China 2025" action plan, Geng said that the plan aims to turn China into a great power in manufacturing. However, "There is nothing wrong with strengthening our own manufacturing capability."

The United States, with the world's leading technology and manufacturing capabilities, should be more confident and compete fairly, rather than imposing unilateralist, protectionist measures, he added.

Sharing Geng's views, experts say the United States retains its lead in indigenous innovation and basic research, in which China has a long way to catch up.

The United States is panicking when faced with a rising China with advanced manufacturing prowess, but this is largely unnecessary, Song Guoyou, a U.S. studies professor with Shanghai-based Fudan University, told Xinhua.

As a national initiative, China put forward the "Made in China 2025" program in 2015 to sharpen manufacturing capabilities in industries ranging from robotics to high-performance CT scanners.

"The West believes the plan aims to replace high-tech imports with domestic products. In my view, it is a big mistake," Tu Xinquan said.

"It is not exclusive or unilateral and brings opportunities for cooperation," he added.

The program covers many sectors that cannot be done by China alone. Instead, different countries need to participate, as each of them plays a part in the chain.

The two countries should jointly develop the high-end manufacturing market to realize win-win results.

UNWAVERING OPENING

Amid trade tensions with the United States, China will not scale back its opening up and will remain a staunch supporter of free trade and globalization.

"China will not close its door to the world. We will only become more and more open," said the report to the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.

China has been moving steadily to cut red tapes, strengthen the protection of intellectual property, downsize saturated sectors including steel, and push for more balanced imports and exports, said Zhang Yi, an analyst with Capital Securities.

Since its accession to the WTO in 2001, China has actively assumed its responsibilities, cutting overall tariff levels from 15.3 percent to 9.8 percent.

With its economy deeply integrated into the global economy, China will open even wider to the rest of the world, as closing the doors will only block its own way, Premier Li Keqiang said at a press conference after the conclusion of the annual legislative session in March.

"We aim to make the vast Chinese market a fair place for both domestic and overseas firms with all kinds of ownerships to compete to offer more options for about 1.3 billion Chinese consumers, expediting upgrading of Chinese products and services," Li said.

Foreign investors will see more access to the finance, telecommunications, heath care, education and elderly care sectors. Caps on foreign holdings in banks, brokerages, insurers and other financial companies will be gradually removed.

More than 35,000 foreign-funded businesses were established in the Chinese mainland last year, with investment hitting an all-time high of 878 billion yuan (about 140 billion U.S. dollars).

As Chinese President Xi Jinping has put it, the global economy is the big ocean that one cannot escape from. Any attempt to cut off the flow of capital, technologies, products, industries and people between economies, and to channel waters in the ocean back into isolated lakes and creeks is simply not possible. Indeed, it runs counter to the historical trend.

No one will emerge as a winner in a trade war.

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