China plans additional tariffs on $50bn US products

Beijing: China on Wednesday unveiled a list of products worth $50 billion imported from the US that will be subject to higher tariffs, including soybeans, cars and chemical goods.

The Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council decided to impose additional tariff of 25 per cent on 106 items of products under 14 categories, the Chinese Finance Ministry was cited as saying by Xinhua news agency.

The move was taken after the US administration published a list of about 1,300 Chinese products it plans to hit with a 25 per cent tariff.

The White House said the proposed imports tariff was a response to unfair Chinese practices to do with intellectual property rights. The US tax targeted items like medical products, televisions and motorcycles.

The Chinese Ministry said the date of implementation will depend on when the US government imposes the tariffs on Chinese products.

Extra tariffs will also be placed on products like whiskey, cigars and tobacco, some types of beef, lubricants, propane and other plastic products.

American orange juice, certain sorghum products, cotton, some types of wheat as well as trucks, some SUVs and certain electric vehicles will also be subject to the new duties, the Finance Ministry added.

The Chinese Commerce Ministry said the US move was "an evident violation of relevant rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO)".

Washington's action "severely infringed on the legitimate rights and interests that China enjoys in accordance with the WTO rules, and threatened China's economic interests and security", the Commerce Ministry said.