President Trump said Tuesday that he intends to impose a 10 percent tariff on Chinese imports to the United States on February 1, a decision that is sure to escalate trade tensions between the world’s largest economies.
Speaking at the White House, Trump said the tariffs were in response to China’s role in the US fentanyl crisis. Mr. Trump said so China was sending fentanyl To Canada and Mexico, from where it will be transported to the United States.
The threat of tariffs comes after Mr. Trump He said on Monday He intends to impose 25 percent tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico as punishment for allowing fentanyl and illegal immigrants to cross into the United States.
“We’re talking about a 10% tariff on China based on the fact that they’re sending fentanyl to Mexico and Canada,” Trump said.
At a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday, Mao Ning, a spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said China would “protect” its interests. “We always believe that there is no winner in a tariff war or a trade war,” she added.
These tariffs will come in addition to duties imposed by Trump on Chinese imports worth more than $300 billion during his first term. These definitions were maintained by former President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who Charge additional fees On Chinese electric cars, solar cells, semiconductors and advanced batteries.
Trump’s pledge to impose tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico is expected to lead to retaliatory measures against US industries. Economists have warned that a global trade war could cause inflation to rebound and hamper US economic growth.
Mr. Trump signed on Executive order Trump on Monday directed various agencies to study a wide range of trade issues with an eye on future tariffs, but he did not impose any new tariffs immediately, as he had previously threatened.
Instead, he ordered US officials to examine the flows of migrants and drugs from Canada, China and Mexico into the United States, and the compliance of these three countries and others with their existing trade agreements with the United States.
Mr. Trump negotiated a new trade deal with Canada and Mexico during his first term: the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA. He also agreed to a limited trade agreement with China that was supposed to reward American farmers.
He has since said that he wants to rewrite the two agreements during his second term.
Mr. Trump and Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, spoke last week and discussed fentanyl trade and areas where the world’s two largest economies can work together.
After Trump’s tariff measures against China in his first term, he signed a wide-ranging economic agreement in 2020.
Relations between the two countries have deteriorated during the pandemic, which Trump has blamed on China, and Beijing has failed to adhere to many of its agreements in the deal, including purchasing American agricultural products.
Scott Bessent, Trump’s pick for Treasury Secretary, said during his speech: Confirmation hearing last week He intends to pressure his Chinese counterparts to start purchasing American agricultural products As their government promised.
The Treasury nominee also said he would pressure his Chinese counterparts to buy additional products to offset what the country was supposed to buy over the past four years.
Keith Bradsher He contributed reporting from Beijing.
