In a sharp escalation of trade tensions, China announced Wednesday it will raise tariffs on U.S. imports from 34 percent to a staggering 84 percent, just hours after the United States implemented a new round of steep duties on Chinese goods.
The Chinese finance ministry said the revised tariffs will take effect at 12:01 p.m. on Thursday, marking a strong response to what it described as Washington’s continued “mistakes” in trade policy.
“The tariff escalation against China by the United States simply piles mistakes on top of mistakes and severely infringes on China’s legitimate rights and interests,” the ministry stated. It further criticized the U.S. for “severely damaging the multilateral rules-based trade system.”
This development follows U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest wave of tariff hikes targeting multiple trade partners, including a punishing 104 percent duty on Chinese products.
In a related move, China’s commerce ministry announced it will blacklist six American artificial intelligence companies, including Shield AI Inc. and Sierra Nevada Corp., accusing them of selling arms to Taiwan or engaging in military tech collaboration with the island.
Beijing reiterated its opposition to unilateral tariff increases and vowed to take “firm and forceful” measures to safeguard its economic interests.
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