China counters Donald Trump's import tariffs with counter-tariffs

DER SPIEGEL China counters Donald Trump's import tariffs with counter-tariffs 19 hours • 2 minutes reading time That was quick: The government in Beijing is responding to the tariffs that Donald Trump has imposed on Chinese goods. Among other things, it affects LNG, coal - and Google. In response to the tariffs on imports from China ordered by US President Donald Trump, the People's Republic has reacted with counter-tariffs. According to the Ministry of Finance in Beijing, additional tariffs of 15 percent are to be levied on coal and liquefied natural gas from the USA. An additional tariff of ten percent is to apply to oil and agricultural machinery. The tariffs are to come into force on February 10. Beijing also announced an antitrust investigation into the US technology giant Google. Shortly before, on Tuesday, the deadline for averting new US tariffs against China had expired. The White House announced on Saturday that the tariffs of an additional ten percent on Chinese imports would come into effect on February 4 shortly after midnight Washington time (around 6 a.m. German time). In contrast to Mexico and Canada, which reached an agreement with US President Donald Trump shortly before the tariffs came into force to suspend the introduction for 30 days, there was initially no such agreement with China. Trump announces talks with Beijing Trump, however, stated on Monday that they would speak to the Chinese side "probably in the next 24 hours." He had previously justified the tariff plans against China, Mexico and Canada by saying that these countries were not doing enough to combat the production and export of illegal fentanyl and its precursor chemicals. In an initial reaction to the announced US tariffs, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced "countermeasures" and a lawsuit at the World Trade Organization (WTO) at the weekend. Chinese economy under pressure The two largest economies are threatening to head for a new trade war like in 2018, when Trump also triggered a conflict by imposing tariffs during his first term in office. At that time, a process was set in motion in which China and the USA imposed ever more tariffs on each other for a good two years. The higher US tariffs are putting a strain on China's export economy because they make Chinese goods more expensive and therefore less competitive on the US market.