China could further ratchet up pressure on American companies in retaliation for US President Donald Trump’s tariffs as it holds back some firepower for negotiations between the world’s two biggest economies in an escalating trade war.
Beijing has already hit back, increasing levies on US goods by 34 per cent and taking a raft of other measures, including export bans on rare earths and an antitrust probe into the Chinese subsidiary of US chemical giant DuPont.
Unlike the previous two rounds of retaliation, which targeted specific categories of US imports, this time Beijing announced a blanket tariff increase to come into effect from April 10, a day after America’s “reciprocal” levies come into effect.