China says Trump forces its hand, will retaliate against new U.S. tariffs

[September 18, 2018]  By Yawen Chen and David Lawder

BEIJING/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China said on Tuesday that it has no choice but to retaliate against new U.S. trade tariffs, raising the risk that President Donald Trump could soon impose duties on virtually all of the Chinese goods that America buys.

The commerce ministry's statement came hours after Trump said he was imposing 10 percent tariffs on about $200 billion worth of imports from China, and threatened duties on about $267 billion more if China retaliated against the U.S. action.

The brief statement gave no details on China's plans, but Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a daily news briefing later that the U.S. steps had brought "new uncertainty" to talks between the two countries.

"China has always emphasized that the only correct way to resolve the China-U.S. trade issue is via talks and consultations held on an equal, sincere and mutually respectful basis. But at this time, everything the United States does does not give the impression of sincerity or goodwill," he added.

Geng said he would not comment on "hypotheticals" such as what measures Beijing might consider apart from tariffs on U.S. products, saying only that details would be released at the appropriate time.

Trump had warned on Monday that if China takes retaliatory action against U.S. farmers or industries, "we will immediately pursue phase three, which is tariffs on approximately $267 billion of additional imports."

The latest U.S. duties spared smart watches from Apple <AAPL.O> and Fitbit <FIT.N> and other consumer products such as baby car seats. But if the administration enacts the additional tariffs it would engulf all remaining U.S. imports from China and Apple products like the iPhone and its competitors would not likely be spared.

Last month, China unveiled a proposed list of tariffs on $60 billion of U.S. goods ranging from liquefied natural gas to certain types of aircraft - should Washington activate the tariffs on its $200 billion list.

China is reviewing plans to send a delegation to Washington for fresh talks in light of the U.S. action, the South China Morning Post reported on Tuesday, citing a government source in Beijing.

Collection of tariffs on the long-anticipated U.S. list will start on Sept. 24 but the rate will increase to 25 percent by the end of 2018, allowing U.S. companies some time to adjust their supply chains to alternate countries.

So far, the United States has imposed tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese products to pressure Beijing to reduce its huge bilateral trade surplus and make sweeping changes to its trade, technology transfer and high-tech industrial subsidy policies.

Beijing has retaliated in kind, but some analysts and American businesses are concerned it could resort to other measures such as pressuring U.S. companies operating in China.

A senior Chinese securities market official said U.S. trade actions will not work as China has ample fiscal and monetary policy tools to cope with the impact. The government already has been ramping up spending on infrastructure.

"President Trump is a hard-hitting businessman, and he tries to put pressure on China so he can get concessions from our negotiations. I think that kind of tactic is not going to work with China," Fang Xinghai, vice chairman of China's securities regulator, said at a conference in the port city of Tianjin.

FURTHER TALKS IN DOUBT

Trump's latest escalation of tariffs on China comes after several rounds of talks yielded no progress. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin last week invited top Chinese officials to fresh discussions, but thus far nothing has been scheduled.

"We have been very clear about the type of changes that need to be made, and we have given China every opportunity to treat us more fairly," Trump said in a statement. "But, so far, China has been unwilling to change its practices."

 President Donald Trump delivers his speech as he and China's President Xi Jinping meet business leaders at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, November 9, 2017. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj/File Photo

Fang told the Tianjin forum that he hopes the two sides can sit down and talk, but added that the latest U.S. move has "poisoned" the atmosphere.

A senior Trump administration official told reporters that the United States was open to further talks with Beijing, but offered no immediate details on when they may occur.

"This is not an effort to constrain China, but this is an effort to work with China and say, 'It's time you address these unfair trade practices that we've identified that others have identified and that have harmed the entire trading system,'" the official said.

So far, China has either imposed or proposed tariffs on $110 billion of U.S. goods, representing most of its imports of American products.

"Tensions in the global economic system have manifested themselves in the U.S.-China trade war, which is now seriously disrupting global supply chains," the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said in a statement on Tuesday.

China's yuan currency <CNY=CFXS> slipped against the dollar on Tuesday after news of the U.S. measures. It has weakened by about 6.0 percent since mid-June, offsetting the 10 percent tariff rate by a considerable margin.

CONSUMER TECH TRIMMED

The U.S. Trade Representative's office eliminated 297 product categories from the latest proposed tariff list, along with some subsets of other categories.

But the adjustments did little to appease technology and retail groups who argued U.S. consumers would feel the pain.

"President Trump's decision...is reckless and will create lasting harm to communities across the country," said Dean Garfield, president of the Information Technology Industry Council, which represents major tech firms.

Kenneth Jarrett, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, said three quarters of its members will be hit by the tariffs, and they will not bring jobs back to the United States.

"Most of our member companies are 'in China, for China' - selling goods to Chinese companies and consumers, not to Americans - and thus ultimately boosting the U.S. economy," Jarrett said.

(Reporting by Steve Holland, David Lawder, Ginger Gibson, Eric Beech, David Shepardson, Yawen Chen; Additional reporting by Kevin Yao in TIANJIN, John Ruwitch in SHANGHAI and Christian Shepherd, Michael Martina and Ryan Woo in BEIJING; Editing by Clive McKeef and Kim Coghill)

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