In a matter of minutes, China’s Ministry of Finance said that American coal and LNG and 10% LNGs for crude oil, agricultural equipment and some cars sent to China from the United States would impose.
China also said that he was starting an antimonopoly investigation in Google (subsidiary of the Alphabet Inc Googl.O) possible sanctions.
On the other hand, the Ministry of Commerce and the Administration of Customs of China announced the imposition of export controls of some essential metals for electronics, military equipment and solar panels.
The 10% tariff announced by China on the imported electric trucks of the United States could be applied to the future sales of Elon Musk Cybertruck, an offer of niche that Tesla Tsla.O has been promoting in China. Tesla has not made immediate comments about it.
The new US export tariffs will begin to be applied on February 10, according to the Ministry, which gives Washington and Beijing a few days to try to reach an agreement that Chinese policy makers have indicated that they hope to reach with Trump.
China’s countermeasures had a limited reach compared to the General Tax on Imports of the Trump Government, a continuation of Beijing’s most mesurated response to this round of commercial tensions with the United States.
Trump suspended on Monday his threat of imposing 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada at the last minute and agreed a 30 -day pause in exchange for border concessions and fighting crime with the two neighboring countries.
However, there was no such pardon for China, and a White House spokesman said Trump would not talk to Chinese President Xi Jinping, until later this week.
During his first term in 2018, Trump began a brutal two -year commercial war with China for his huge American commercial surplus, with eye tariff The world economy.
“The commercial war is in the early stages, so the probability of new tariffs is high,” said Oxford Economics in a note to lower its prognosis of economic growth in China.
Trump warned that it could further increase tariffs to China unless Beijing stops fentanyl flow, a mortal opioid, to the United States.
“Hopefully China stop sending us fentanil, and if they don’t, tariffs will rise substantially,” he said Monday.
China has described fentanil as a problem in the United States and has said that it will challenge tariffs in the World Trade Organization and adopt other countermeasures, but has also left the door open to conversations.
The United States is a relatively small source of crude oil for China, with 1.7% of its imports last year, worth about 6,000 million dollars. Little more than 5% of LNG’s Chinese imports come from the United States.
Crude prices expanded their losses and fell 2% after Chinese reprisals, and Hong Kong bags cut their profits. The dollar was strengthened, while the Chinese yuan, the euro, the Australian dollar and the Canadian, as well as the Mexican peso, fell, reflecting the growing market concern for the risk of a prolonged world commercial war. MKTS/GLOB
“Unlike Canada and Mexico, it is clearly more difficult for the United States and China to agree on what Trump demands economically and politically. The previous optimism of the market on a quick agreement still seems uncertain,” said Gary Ng, economist from Natixis in Hong Kong.
“Even if the two countries can agree on some issues, it is possible to see that tariffs are used as a recurrent tool, which can be a key source of market volatility this year.”
Neighborhood agreements
There was relief in Ottawa and Mexico City, as well as in the world financial markets, after agreements to avoid strong tariffs to Canada and Mexico.
Both Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and the Mexican president, Claudia Sheinbaum, said they had agreed to strengthen border control efforts in response to Trump’s demand to take firm measures against immigration and drug smuggling. In this way, the 25% tariffs that should go into force on Tuesday would be suspended for 30 days.
Canada agreed to deploy new technology and personnel throughout its border with the United States and start cooperating to fight organized crime, fentanyl smuggling and money laundering.
Mexico agreed to reinforce its northern border with 10,000 members of the National Guard to curb the illegal migration flow and drugs.
The United States also pledged to prevent great power trafficking towards Mexico, said Sheinbaum.
“As president, it is my responsibility to guarantee the security of all Americans, and that is precisely what I am doing. I am very satisfied with this initial result,” Trump said on social networks.
