China accuses Trump of ‘blackmail’ after new U.S. threat of 10% tariff

June 19, 2018 09:33 pm | Updated 09:33 pm IST - Beijing

 In this Thursday, June 14, 2018, file photo, a Chinese national flag at Tiananmen Square flutters against the capital city tallest skyscraper China Zun Tower under construction at the Central Business District in Beijing.

In this Thursday, June 14, 2018, file photo, a Chinese national flag at Tiananmen Square flutters against the capital city tallest skyscraper China Zun Tower under construction at the Central Business District in Beijing.

Beijing on Tuesday accused Donald Trump of “blackmail” and warned that it would retaliate in kind after the U.S. President threatened to impose fresh tariffs on Chinese goods.

Mr. Trump said on Monday that he had asked the U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to target $200 billion worth of imports for a 10% levy, citing China’s “unacceptable” move to raise its own tariffs.

He added he would identify an extra $200 billion of goods — for a possible total of $450 billion, or most Chinese imports — “if China increases its tariffs yet again”.

‘Unfair trade practices’

“Further action must be taken to encourage China to change its unfair practices, open its market to United States goods and accept a more balanced trade relationship with the United States,” Mr. Trump said in a statement.

Last week, he announced 25% tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese imports, prompting Beijing to retaliate with matching duties.

China’s Commerce Ministry immediately responded by saying that the U.S. “practice of extreme pressure and blackmail departed from the consensus reached by both sides during multiple negotiations and has also greatly disappointed international society”.

Also, on Monday, the U.S. Senate defied Mr. Trump by voting to overrule his administration’s deal with legislation to reimpose the ban on hi-tech chip sales to ZTE, whose fate has figured prominently in the trade talks.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.