New US tariffs hit China, Beijing too imposes duties

TIL Desk/World/Washington/ The US on Sunday imposed fresh tariffs on $112 billion worth of Chinese imported goods, while Beijing also levied duties between 5-10 per cent on $75 billion American products, marking a sharp escalation of the bruising trade war between the world”s two largest economies.

The developments took place on the same day that Chinese state broadcaster reported that negotiating teams from both countries were planning to meet in early September in the US to try to reach a mutually-satisfactory agreement to end the ongoing trade war.

However, China”s Ministry of Commerce lamented that the new round of tariffs levied by the US was not the best climate for trade negotiations. The latest American tariffs on Chinese goods come into force at 12.01 a.m. on Sunday, according to the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR).

On August 23, US President Donald Trump announced that from September 1 onwards, he would raise tariffs from 10 per cent to 15 per cent on a substantial portion of Chinese imports in response to levies by China on American goods.