China is to impose additional 25 per cent duties on $16bn of US goods including oil, steel and cars, Beijing said on Wednesday, as the trade war between the two countries escalates.
The Chinese move came in response to the Trump administration’s imposition of extra 25 per cent duties on $16bn of Chinese goods — such as motorcycles, industrial chemicals and railway carriages — that Washington announced on Tuesday night. Both sets of measures will take effect on August 23.
The announcements mean that $100bn worth of bilateral trade will now be subjected to punitive duties, since the two sides imposed tariffs on $34bn of each other’s goods last month.