U.S., China swap tariffs on billions in commodities

The U.S. slapped steep tariffs on another $16 billion in Chinese goods on Thursday, triggering a swift tit-for-tat retaliation from Beijing, even as negotiators from both sides seek to soothe trade tensions.

The latest action completes the first round of $50 billion in Chinese products that President Donald Trump had targeted, with Beijing striking back at American products dollar-for-dollar at each step.

‘Firmly oppose tariffs’
China “firmly opposes the tariffs and has no choice but to continue to make the necessary counterattacks”, the Commerce Ministry said in a statement. Beijing hit back with tariffs on an equal amount of U.S. goods, targeting iconic products such as Harley-Davidson motorcycles, dump trucks and asphalt, among hundreds of others.

The Ministry said the U.S. tariffs were “clearly suspected” of violating the World Trade Organisation rules, and noted it would file a lawsuit against them under the WTO’s dispute resolution mechanism.

The escalation came as the world’s two largest economies hold their first formal discussions since June on the spiralling trade war.

Mr. Trump has pushed aggressive trade actions to lower the U.S. trade deficit. But U.S. trading partners have retaliated aggressively, which is hurting American farmers, manufacturers and consumers.

Still pending is the possibility of new duties on another $200 billion in Chinese goods, which are the subject of public hearings this week, as well as Mr. Trump’s proposed 25% taxes on all auto imports to protect the U.S. car industry.

U.S. Treasury’s David Malpass, Undersecretary for international affairs, is leading two days of talks with China’s Vice-Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen and Vice-Finance Minister Liao Min that began Wednesday. The talks were to continue Thursday, but the Treasury has not specified what topics are being discussed.