China Responds to U.S. Tariffs with Its Own Levies

HONG KONG — In a swift move, China immediately reacted on Tuesday after the United States implemented a 10% tariff on Chinese goods, announcing that it would impose similar tariffs on selected U.S. products ranging from 10% to 15%.

Starting February 10, the Chinese government will enforce an additional 15% tariff on coal and liquefied natural gas. Concurrently, a 10% tariff will be applied to crude oil, agricultural machinery, larger vehicles, and pickup trucks, as per the announcement.

This decision came just minutes after the U.S. tariff took effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on the same day.

The Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council, which operates under China's Cabinet, stated, “This unilateral tariff hike by the U.S. side seriously violates World Trade Organization rules, does nothing to solve its own problems, and undermines normal China–U.S. economic and trade cooperation.”

U.S. President Trump announced the tariff on Saturday, alongside a 25% tariff on goods imported from Canada and Mexico, linking the action to issues of border security and the international drug trade involving substances like fentanyl. While tariffs on Canada and Mexico have been deferred for 30 days due to ongoing discussions with leaders from those nations, no similar agreement has yet been made with China.

As a side note, mainland Chinese markets remained closed for the Lunar New Year holiday, while other Asia-Pacific markets saw an increase on Tuesday in reaction to the pause on Canadian and Mexican tariffs, as reported by CNBC.

China, Tariff, Trade