China has announced a “synchronized” retaliation against the latest tranche of tariffs levied against the country by the U.S.
On Monday, President Donald Trump revealed new tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports, this time effectively adding to the prices of many consumer goods—earlier rounds of tariffs, which hit $50 billion in Chinese imports, largely targeted items needed by American manufacturers.
The new tariffs, which come into effect Monday, start at 10%, but are due to rise to 25% at the start of 2019.
“We deeply regret this,” China’s commerce ministry said Tuesday. “In order to safeguard our legitimate rights and interests and the global free trade order, China will have to synchronize its countermoves.”
The Chinese previously said they would slap tariffs on $60 billion worth of U.S. imports if Trump went ahead with the round he just unveiled.
Bloomberg estimated Tuesday that the initial phase of the new U.S. tariffs would shave 0.5% off Chinese GDP growth, with that figure rising to 0.9% once the tariff rate ramps up to 25% in a few months’ time.
And this may not be the end of it. Trump has indicated that he would like to add tariffs on a further $267 billion of Chinese imports. As these tariff rounds stack up, they will affect American consumers more and more, due to the increased cost of the goods they buy.
However, Trump sees the tariffs as a vote-winner ahead of the November midterms, as he has broad support for the moves within Congress.
The latest round of tariffs does not affect Apple products such as the Watch and AirPods, as was previously feared—these products are exempted in the final list. However, China’s retaliation could hurt Apple due to its reliance on production in the country.
