China Vows Retaliation Against Proposed 100% U.S. Tariff
BEIJING – China’s Commerce Ministry stated today it will resolutely take countermeasures to protect its interests if the U.S. proceeds with a threatened 100% tariff on Chinese goods,โฃ escalating tensions in an ongoing trade dispute. The statement, delivered as answers from an unnamed spokesperson to questionsโฃ from unspecified media, comes after former President Trump‘s recent vow to impose the tariff and export controls on “criticalโค software.”
both โขWashington and Beijing accuse each other of violating a previous trade truce โคthrough new trade restrictions.Trump, in a social media post, characterized China asโค “becoming very hostile” and accused it of leveraging its dominance in rare earth metals and magnets to โhold the world โ”captive.”
The Commerce Ministry countered that the U.S. has recently expanded export controls targeting Chinese companies. It affirmed that export licenses for rare earths would be granted for legitimateโ civilian uses, while acknowledgingโค their military applications. New regulations require foreign companies to obtain Chinese government approval toโข export items containing rare earths sourced from China, regardless โขof where the products are manufactured.
China currently controls approximately 70% of the โคworld’s rare earth mining and 90% of globalโค processing, making access to โthes critical minerals – used in products ranging from jet engines to smartphones – a key point โขof contention in U.S.-China trade negotiations.
The ministry also cited U.S. port fees on Chinese ships, set to take โeffect Tuesday, โas a further โprovocation, announcing Friday that China would respond with equivalent fees on American vessels. The statement concluded by calling for concernsโ to be addressed through dialog.