• News
  • Sport
  • TV
  • Radio
  • Education
  • TV Licences
  • Contact Us
  • SOUTH AFRICA
  • POLITICS
  • BUSINESS
  • SPORT
  • AFRICA
  • WORLD
  • FEATURES
  • OPINION
No Result
View All Result
1
Home World

Trump unleashes trade war with tariffs on China

6 July 2018, 7:46 AM  |
AFP AFP |  @SABCNews
The US trade deficit in goods with China ballooned to a record $375.2 billion last year

The US trade deficit in goods with China ballooned to a record $375.2 billion last year

Image: AFP

The US trade deficit in goods with China ballooned to a record $375.2 billion last year

Punishing US tariffs on Chinese imports took effect early on Friday, marking the start of President Donald Trump’s trade war with the largest US trading partner and intensifying the anxieties of global industry.

Beijing said it was “forced to take necessary counter measures” after Trump imposed 25 percent duties on about $34 billion in Chinese machinery, electronics and high-tech equipment including autos, computer hard drives and LEDs.

China was expected to respond dollar-for-dollar but did not immediately release details of the countermeasures, which were expected mainly to target agricultural products in a bid to hurt Trump supporters.

Beijing accused Washington of launching “the largest trade war in economic history” and vowed to take the case to the World Trade Organization. But it could just be the opening skirmishes in the war, as Trump has vowed to impose tariffs on as much as $450 billion in Chinese goods, the vast majority of imports.

The arrival of the long-threatened tariffs marked the failure of months of dialogue between the world’s two largest economies and came amid hand-wringing from industry leaders who fear shrinking markets, higher prices and slower growth.

The tariffs also made real a campaign-trail pledge for Trump, who has fulminated for years against what he describes as Beijing’s underhanded economic treatment of the United States.

US officials accuse China of building that country’s emerging industrial dominance by stealing the “crown jewels” of American technological know-how through cyber-theft, forced transfers of intellectual property, state-sponsored corporate acquisitions and other underhand practices.

They say the current US economic strength, as well as America’s soaring trade deficit in goods, means the world’s largest economy can outlast its rivals in the current tit-for-tat battle, presenting Washington with a rare window of opportunity to settle old scores.

The US trade deficit in goods with China ballooned to a record $375.2 billion last year, further stoking Trump’s ire.

But it remained to be seen whether the American president would carry out recent threats to respond to any Chinese retaliation with maximum pressure, raising US duties on Chinese goods in increments of $200 billion until virtually all the goods America buys from its largest trading partner are subject to duties.

Trump erased any hope of an about-face. He said Washington stood ready to slap duties on hundreds of billions more in Chinese imports once Friday’s tariffs took effect.

As the tariffs’ start approached at midnight, the US central bank warned the impending trade battle was beginning to darken the otherwise blue skies of the robust American economy, now starting its 10th year of recovery.

Businesses around the United States told the central bank that spending plans had been scaled back or postponed and they also warned of further adverse effects from the trade conflict, according to a Federal Reserve survey.

An industrial survey confirmed that companies were white-knuckling their way through Trump’s intensifying, multi-front trade assault.

“We’re starting to see signs of inflation, not sharp inflation, but definitely inflation,” Anthony Nieves, head of a services industry survey committee for the Institute for Supply Management, told reporters on Thursday.

The start of the trade war likely confirms the widening rupture between Trump and his own Republican Party, a traditional champion of free trade and big business whose members, while critical, have so-far shrunk from curtailing the White House’s trade powers.

But, with the GOP facing strong political headwinds ahead of November’s mid-term elections, China’s countermeasures left both Trump and Republican lawmakers increasingly vulnerable to voters who appear likely to boost the fortunes of opposition Democrats.

The powerful US Chamber of Commerce, a principal corporate lobby, said this week that retaliation from China, Canada, Mexico, the European Union and others against Trump’s tariffs was already affecting $75 billion in US exports much of this from states that had narrowly supported Trump in 2016’s presidential elections.

Share article
Tags: USChinaDonald TrumpChinese goodsTrade war
Previous Post

CWU threatens strike at Telkom and Post Office

Next Post

Motsoaledi confident about private sector findings

Related Posts

[File Image] A view shows smoke rising above the area.

Canadian wildfires affect New York City’s air quality

8 June 2023, 9:07 AM
U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, U.S, January 6, 2021.

Hollywood actor becomes latest arrested in Jan 6 Capitol assault

8 June 2023, 8:54 AM
Russia's President Vladimir Putin (L) shakes hands with South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa at the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, South Africa July 26, 2018. Sputnik/Alexei Nikolsky/Kremlin

Ramaphosa-Putin discuss Brics Summit, African peace initiative

8 June 2023, 6:51 AM
People including plaintiffs' lawyers hold banners and flags, after the lower court ruled that not allowing same-sex marriage was unconstitutional, outside Nagoya district court, in Nagoya, central Japan, May 30, 2023, in this photo released by Kyodo. Mandatory credit Kyodo via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. JAPAN OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN JAPAN.

Japan court rules that not allowing same-sex marriage is ‘in a state of unconstitutionality’

8 June 2023, 6:00 AM
Pope Francis gestures as he speaks during the weekly general audience at the Vatican, January 4, 2023.

Pope Francis undergoes second abdominal surgery in two years

7 June 2023, 6:32 PM
Britain's Prince Harry

Prince Harry says phone-hacking was on industrial scale in UK press

7 June 2023, 4:41 PM
Next Post
The findings include lack of competition, the rising cost of the medical aid cover and dis-empowered consumers.

Motsoaledi confident about private sector findings

Most Viewed

  • 24hrs
  • Week
  • Month
  • Eastern Cape ActionSA raises eyebrows over qualifications of senior officials
  • Unisa suspends registrar for various breaches of policy
  • Orlando Pirates player Thembinkosi Lorch found guilty of assault
  • Slain teen Palesa Malatji’s family calls for death sentence to be reinstated
  • Female student stabbed to death at NMU residence
  • Dr Nandipha’s looks during court appearances under the spotlight
  • Deadline for Zimbabwean Exemption Permits draws near
  • Reserve Bank expected to increase repo rate on Thursday
  • Zimbabwe receives 18 helicopters from Russian Federation
  • Eastern Cape ActionSA raises eyebrows over qualifications of senior officials
  • [Update] Johannesburg Mayor takes ill during State of the City Address debate
  • Dr Nandipha Magudumana – from celebrity doctor to fugitive
  • EFF receives backlash for inviting Prof Lumumba to address Public Lecture
  • Ramaphosa and Putin discuss Ukraine during phone call: Kremlin
  • Man dies in police holding cells after allegedly dousing girlfriend with petrol

LATEST

President Cyril Ramaphosa with  President Vladimir Putin of Russia
  • Africa

Ramaphosa engages Putin on African peace initiative: Presidency


Zimbabweans with the country's flag.
  • Africa

Motsoaledi extends validity of Zimbabwean Exemption Permit to December


Scam alert
  • South Africa

PODCAST: KZN women allege Facebook pilot scammer defrauded them of R100 000


South African farmer at his maize farm.
  • Africa

TAAT to share lessons on agricultural innovations at Africa Agribusiness Week


Suspended Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane.
  • Politics

UDM calls for police to reveal investigation findings on Dyantyi


Saudi Arabian soccer team Al Ittihad player Karim Benzema arrives in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in this handout photo obtained by Reuters June 7, 2023. Al Ittihad/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT     TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
  • Sport

Benzema fever hits Jeddah ahead of Al-Ittihad presentation


Weather

  • About the SABC
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs
  • Advertise
  • Disclaimer
  • Site Map

SABC © 2023

No Result
View All Result
  • SOUTH AFRICA
  • POLITICS
  • BUSINESS
  • SPORT
  • AFRICA
  • WORLD
  • FEATURES
  • OPINION

© 2023

Previous CWU threatens strike at Telkom and Post Office
Next Motsoaledi confident about private sector findings