(Bloomberg) — Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world embroiled in trade wars. Sign up here.
China called planned U.S. tariffs on an additional $300 billion in Chinese goods a violation of accords reached by Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, signaling its intention to impose retaliatory measures.
The new 10% levies have taken the U.S. and China off the track of resolving their dispute through negotiation, according to a short Thursday statement from the State Council Tariff Committee. China “has no choice but to take necessary measures to retaliate,” it said, without specifying what the nation would do. The committee has overseen tit-for-tat retaliatory tariffs on American products.
European stocks declined and U.S. equity futures pared a gain. The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell while the three main American equity contracts trimmed an earlier jump after China’s move.
Trump announced the new tariffs this month, after which China halted purchases of agricultural goods and allowed the yuan to weaken. Still, top negotiators held a phone call earlier this week and the U.S. delayed the imposition of some of the new tariffs. Negotiators also agreed to have another phone call in the coming two weeks and people familiar said earlier the Chinese delegation is sticking to their plan to travel to the U.S. in September for face-to-face meetings.
To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Miao Han in Beijing at [email protected]
To contact the editors responsible for this story: John Liu at [email protected], Sharon Chen
For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com
©2019 Bloomberg L.P.