China imposed a final duty against the U.S. – 125%

Beijing has raised the import duty on US goods for the last time – it now stands at 125%. Chinese authorities say further tightening simply doesn’t make sense, and have sharply criticized US economic policy.

People in China have said that further tightening simply doesn’t make sense, and have sharply criticized US economic policy.

After another round of trade confrontation, China has announced that it has pushed the retaliatory duty rate to the limit of 125% on products from the US. A statement released by China’s Ministry of Finance said further measures by Washington “no longer defy economic logic” and the United States “risks going down in history as a farce in the global economy.”

After another round of trade confrontation, China announced that it had increased the retaliatory duty rate to 125% on US products.

Trade war escalates: Beijing is not going to play by Washington’s rules

China’s retaliatory moves were a reaction to a series of duties imposed by the Trump administration, starting in February at 10 percent and rising to 145 percent within months. Beijing emphasizes that at this point their own duties have reached a threshold at which U.S. products become virtually unrealizable in the Chinese market.

At this point, China’s own duties have reached a threshold at which U.S. products become virtually unrealizable in the Chinese market.

“Goods from the U.S. are no longer accepted by the market,” the statement said. – ‘There is no point in continuing the game of duty escalation. If the U.S. side continues to raise rates, China will simply ignore it.”

China is ready for other pressure measures

Despite assurances of an end to the duty race, Chinese authorities have made it clear: other forms of pressure remain on the table. In its final statement, Beijing warned that in the event of “gross and systematic infringement of China’s interests,” the country is ready for decisive and tough countermeasures.

At the end of the duty race, the Chinese authorities made clear that other forms of pressure are still on the table.

The first such steps had already been announced the day before: China has reduced the number of Hollywood films allowed for domestic distribution and restricted the foreign economic rights of a number of American companies. This demonstrates that Beijing can refocus pressure from duties on culture and business.

What’s next?

Although Beijing has declared the current level of duties final, the conflict appears to be far from over. Trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies have become increasingly politicized, with repercussions already being felt far beyond the U.S. and China.