US-China trade tensions escalate

US-China trade tensions escalate
Copyright Reuters/Amit Dave
By Oleksandra Vakulina with Reuters
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China on Friday said it would not be blackmailed and warned of retaliation after US President Donald Trump vowed to slap a 10% tariff on 270 billion euros ($300 billion) of Chinese imports from next month, sharply escalating a trade row between the world's biggest economies.

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China on Friday said it would not be blackmailed and warned of retaliation after US President Donald Trump vowed to slap a 10% tariff on 270 billion euros ($300 billion) of Chinese imports from next month, sharply escalating a trade row between the world's biggest economies.

Hua Chunying, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman: "China has always believed that there are no winners in a trade war. We don't want to fight (a trade war). But we aren't afraid of fighting one. China will not accept any maximum pressure, intimidation or blackmail."

Trump's announcement came after the latest round of bilateral talks showed little sign of a breakthrough. The new tariffs, due to take effect on 1 September, effectively tax all Chinese imports to the US.

Donald Trump, US President: "President Xi who is somebody I like a lot I think he wants to make a deal but frankly he's not going fast enough. He said he was gonna be buying from our farmers, he didn't do that. He said he was going to stop Fentanyl from coming into our country. It's all coming out of China. He didn't do that. We are losing thousands of people to Fentanyl and this was time."

Moody's said the new tariffs would weigh on the global economy at a time when growth is already slowing in the United States, China and Europe

Importers often pass the costs of tariffs on to customers by raising their prices. The new levies will hit a wide swath of consumer goods from cell phones and laptop computers to toys and footwear.

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