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US China Trade War
China retaliated against President Donald Trump's tariffs with an additional 15% tax on key American farm products, including chicken, pork, soybeans and beef. The escalating trade tensions punished US markets Monday as investors fearful of the damage from from Trump's trade wars put their money elsewhere. The Chinese tariffs, announced last week, were a response to Trump's decision to double the levy on Chinese imports to 20% on March 4. China's Commerce Ministry had earlier said that goods already in transit would be exempt from the retaliatory tariffs until April 12. Imposing tariffs on imports is a key part of Trump's agenda. He believes the import taxes can raise money for the Treasury, protect American industries and pressure foreign countries to do what he wants in a range of issues, including immigration and drug trafficking. On Wednesday, Trump is set to remove exceptions on 25% steel tariffs he imposed in 2018 - effectively raising the taxes - and raise his levy on alumin
The leaders of both Canada and Mexico got on the phone with President Donald Trump this past week to seek solutions after he slapped tariffs on their countries, but China's president appears unlikely to make a similar call soon. Beijing, which unlike America's close partners and neighbours has been locked in a trade and tech war with the US for years, is taking a different approach to Trump in his second term, making it clear that any negotiations should be conducted on equal footing. China's leaders say they are open to talks, but they also made preparations for the higher US tariffs, which have risen 20 per cent since Trump took office seven weeks ago. Intent on not being caught off guard as they were during Trump's first term, the Chinese were ready with retaliatory measures imposing their own taxes this past week on key US farm imports and more. As Washington escalates the tariff, Beijing doesn't see other options but to retaliate, said Sun Yun, director of the China programme
China is keeping its economic growth target at around 5% for 2025 despite a looming trade war with the United States and other headwinds. The target for GDP growth was announced Wednesday in a report being presented by Premier Li Qiang at the opening session of the National People's Congress, the annual meeting of China's legislature. It gives an indication of how ambitious the government is about boosting growth in challenging economic times. The IMF has projected China's economy will grow 4.6% this year, down from 5% in 2024, according to Chinese government statistics. A target of around 5% is well aligned with our mid- and long-term development goals and underscores our resolve to meet difficulties head-on and strive hard to deliver, the government report said. Across-the-board tariffs imposed on Chinese products by U.S. President Donald Trump pose the latest threat to an economy already weighed down by a prolonged real estate slump and sluggish consumer spending and private ...