China should address the longstanding concerns about its "unfair" trading practices rather than slapping retaliatory tariffs, the Trump administration said today after Beijing announced that it will impose new duties on USD 60 billion worth of US goods amidst a trade war between the world's top two economies.
Chinese commerce ministry statement came in retaliation to the announcement by the Trump administration that it is likely to impose another USD 200 billion worth of import tariffs on Chinese products.
"Instead of retaliating, China should address the longstanding concerns about its unfair trading practices, many of which are laid out in USTRs 301 report," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a sharp reaction.
Early this week, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer urged China to stop its unfair practices, open its market and engage in true market competition.
"We have been very clear about the specific changes China should undertake. Regrettably, instead of changing its harmful behaviour, China has illegally retaliated against US workers, farmers, ranchers and businesses," he said.
Announcing imposition of new tariffs, from 10 per cent to 25 per cent, Lighthizer said that the increase in the possible rate of the additional duty was intended to provide the administration with additional options to encourage China to change its harmful policies and behaviour and adopt policies that will lead to fairer markets and prosperity for all of Americans.
"The United States has joined forces with like-minded partners around the world to address unfair trade practices such as forced technology transfer and intellectual property theft, and we remain ready to engage with China in negotiations that could resolve these and other problems detailed in our Section 301 report," Lighthizer said.
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The trade spat between the top two economies of the world began in April with Trump imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum imports into US.
China retaliated by imposing additional tariffs worth about USD three billion on 128 US products.
Trump, while demanding China to reduce the USD 375 billion by USD 100 billion, retaliated with USD 50 billion tariffs on Chinese products.
In retaliation, China announced plans to impose new tariffs of 25 per cent worth USD 50 billion on 106 American products, including items like soybeans which could hurt American farmers.
The Trump administration on July 6 imposed 25 per cent tariffs on USD 34 billion in Chinese products.
China promptly retaliated with its own duties on the same scale and rate.
The two countries have not yet implemented their tariff increases.