China / United States │Harsh trade retaliation by China

However, on this occasion Pekin has responded firmly to the round of “reciprocal tariffs" announced by Trump last April 2, which in the case of China have risen to 34%. Beijing announced the following day that it would also apply a 34% tariff that would take effect on April 10, one day after the US tariff does. In addition, China has announced a long list of countermeasures: the immediate restriction of exports of seven rare earths (samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, scandium and yttrium); an anti-dumping investigation into US and Indian medical X-ray tubes; the suspension of poultry imports from two US companies; the inclusion of 11 defense companies on a list of unreliable entities; export controls on 16 US companies; and the suspension of sorghum imports from one US company.

If nothing changes in the next week, tariffs between the two major powers would be around 74%, which would mean a serious disruption to their trade. business relationships and a severe blow to the export sectors and a long list of multinational companies with interests in both countries. According to various estimates, the tariffs could cause a drop in growth in China of at least 1-2% of GDP this year and a drop in exports of 4-5%.

Source: CESCE