BEGUN, THE TRADE WAR HAS? China Threatens U.S. Cars, Planes and Soy in Response to Trump.
China’s cabinet, the State Council, said Wednesday that the tariffs will cover 106 categories of products and affect $50 billion of Chinese imports of U.S. products. The tariff rate and the sum of goods targeted match the proposal unveiled by the Trump administration Tuesday to punish Beijing for what it says are unfair practices to acquire American technology.
Neither the U.S. nor Chinese tariffs take effect immediately. The Chinese government didn’t specify when its penalties would be imposed. A Finance Ministry statement said that authorities are watching how the U.S. implements its proposed trade actions.
“Frankly speaking, we’re facing huge challenges today,” Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao told reporters at an official briefing following the release of the plan.
The Chinese plan makes good on warnings that Beijing would respond to U.S. trade actions with proportional measures. In a key difference, Beijing has targeted the biggest American exports to China: soybeans and airplanes. Many of the other goods on the list—including sorghum and beef—intentionally affect the U.S. Farm Belt, where voters supported President Donald Trump, according to people familiar with the plans for retaliation.
Soybeans and cars both come from the heart of Trump Country.