Chinese officials are calling on US President Donald Trump to “completely cancel” his so-callled reciprocal tariffs, as a trade war between the world’s two biggest economies grinds on.
This week, Trump announced a 90-day pause for a host of global tariffs he had planned, but increased levies on Chinese imports to 145%.
“We urge the US to take a big step to correct its mistakes, completely cancel the wrong practice of ‘reciprocal tariffs’ and return to the right path of mutual respect,” China’s commerce ministry said in a statement.
The Trump administration offered a concession on Friday by announcing that some technological products – including many produced in China – would be exempted.
The Chinese commerce ministry called the exemptions a “small step” by the US, and said that Beijing was “evaluating the impact” of the move.
Trump’s technology exemptions – which include smartphones, computers and semiconductors – offered hope for tech giants and consumers who worried the price of gadgets would skyrocket as a result of the tariffs.
But there was no immediate prospect of a thaw in the two rival’s protectionist posture.
US trade representative Jamieson Greer was asked whether there were any plans for Trump to speak with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, during an appearance on CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday.
“Right now we don’t have any plans on that,” he said.
Trump imposed a tariff amounting to 54% on imports of products from China at the beginning of April, before escalating to the current 145% rate.
In its own tit-for-tat tariffs, China imposed levies of 34% on US goods, before increasing it to 84% and then 125%, which took effect on Saturday.
In announcing its latest tariffs, China’s commerce ministry said last week that it would “fight to the end” if the US “insists on provoking a tariff war or trade war”.
Late on Saturday, while travelling to Miami, Florida, Trump said he would give more details of the exemptions at the start of next week.
The White House has argued that it is using tariffs as a negotiating tactic to extract more favorable trade terms from other countries.
Trump has said his policy will redress unfairness in the global trading system, as well as bring jobs and factories back to the US.
However, his interventions have seen massive fluctuations in the stock market and raised fears of a decrease in global trade that could have a knock-on effect on jobs and individual economies.
