>China has implemented retaliatory tariffs of up to 25% on $3bn in food imports from the US, raising uncertainty over the possibility of a trade war between the two countries
>China’s ministry of commerce said it would be “suspending tariff concessions” on 120 US food products. Fresh and dried fruits, almonds, pistachios and wine would be subject to an additional 15% tariff. Eight other items, including frozen pork, would be subject to a 25% tariff. The tariffs would begin on Monday, the ministry said.
>The tariffs were in line with a list of potential duties on $3bn worth of US products released two weeks ago in response to Donald Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminium. The US president has also promised to levy 25% on $60bn in annual imports from China.
>Analysts say the fact that China’s tariffs do not cover some of the US’s biggest exports to China, such as soybeans, is a sign Beijing wants to avoid an all-out trade war.
>“The amount subject to tariff is not big, which shows China is willing to ease the intensity of the trade conflict that was started by the US. Trump gave us a heavy shot, and China is giving a light shot back,” said Shi Yinhong, director of the US research centre at Renmin University in Beijing
>The state-owned Xinhua news on Monday called Trump’s tariffs, a “self-defeating gamble.” The editorial, published in English, said, “The threatening tariffs, if realized, may hurt China. Yet the damage will be done at the expense of enormous American interests.”
>US senator Elizabeth Warren said on a three-day visit to China that US policy towards China up to now has been “misdirected” and she was not afraid of tariffs.
>“We told ourselves a happy face story that never fit with the facts. Now US policymakers are starting to look more aggressively at pushing China to open up the markets without demanding a hostage price of access to US technology,” she said on Sunday in Beijing.
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It seems that China finally retaliated but with restraint. Judging by the article, it seems like the US may go further with tariffs as even the Democrats seem in favor of tariffs. Will the trade war escalate?