Washington/Beijing: US President Donald Trump escalated his trade war with China on Friday, raising tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods from 10 per cent to 25 per cent, prompting a swift rebuke from Beijing as trade talks held in Washington failed to produce a breakthrough. Donald Trump said he was in “absolutely no rush” to finalize the trade agreement with China and that bilateral talks, due to resume in Washington later on Friday, were continuing in a very “congenial” way. Tariffs on the targeted exports increased to 25 per cent at 12.01 a.m. on Friday.
In response, China expressed “deep regret over the development” and said it would respond in kind. The Ministry did not give specifics on how it would respond. The Chinese Commerce Ministry in a statement said that Beijing will have to take necessary countermeasures after the latest tariff hike. A high-level Chinese delegation led by its top trade envoy and the country’s Vice Premier Liu He was in Washington to hammer out a deal to put an end to the trade war. The delegation met the US negotiators on Thursday but failed to produce an agreement. The two-day talks will end on Friday. (IANS)
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