Shipping containers at the Port of Oakland in Oakland, Calif., in November. On Tuesday, President Donald Trump’s tariffs targeting Canada, China and Mexico went into effect. File Photo by Jong G. Mabanglo/EPA-EFE
March 4 (UPI) — China on Tuesday announced retaliatory tariffs of up to 15% on some U.S. imports and restrictions on dual-use exports to 15 American companies, as President Donald Trump‘s tariffs on goods from China, Canada and Mexico went into effect.
Beijing’s Ministry of Finance said it will impose a 15% tariff on 29 U.S. chicken, wheat, corn and cotton products, such as fresh or frozen chicken, wheat flour and combed and uncombed cotton.
A 10% tariff will also be imposed on 711 U.S. sorghum, soybean, pork, beef, seafood, dairy and fruit and vegetable products, it said.
In conjunction, the commerce ministry announced the restrictions on dual-use exports to 15 American companies, including Leidos, General Atomics Land Systems, while adding 10 U.S. firms to its “unreliable entities” list.
The tariffs go into effect on March 10.
China’s retaliatory tariffs were announced as U.S. tariffs against China, Canada and Mexico took effect, with Ottawa and Mexico City being hit with tariffs with 25% on their goods.
Trump has long used tariffs in an attempt coerce nations into conceding to his demands, having imposed tariffs on approximately $380 billion during his first term. Before he was inaugurated on Jan. 20, he threatened to impose them on Washington’s three largest trading partners over drugs and migrants entering the United States. He has also vowed to impose reciprocal tariffs against countries such as India and those in the European Union.
The American president initially imposed the 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico early last month but then shelved them amid negotiations.
U.S. officials have said that both countries have made efforts to curb drug imports, but not enough to stop illegal migration.
Regarding China, Trump has continued to chastise it for failing to stop the flow of fentanyl precursor chemicals to criminal cartels in Mexico, who turn them into the deadly drug and smuggle it stateside.
China has repeatedly rejected the accusation and on Tuesday lambasted the Trump administration while defending itself as “one of the strictest and most thorough enforcers of anti-narcotics policies in the world.”
In a statement, Beijing’s commerce ministry said the United States imposed the tariffs despite China having engaged in “extensive and in-depth cooperation” with Washington that has led to “significant results.”
“However, the U.S. has once again shifted blame,” it said, adding the tariffs “will not solve U.S. domestic issues” but instead will damage bilateral relations.
“This action disregards the facts, ignores international trade rules and global concerns and represents a typical act of unilateralism and bullying,” it said.
Trump’s tariffs and the ensuing trade war are expected to have negative impacts on the U.S. economy and American consumers.
The Washington-based Peterson Institute for International Economics states that tariffs from the three countries will cost the typical U.S. household more than $1,200 a year. Meanwhile, the Tax Foundation found they will reduce the United States’ gross domestic product by about half a percentage point.
According to the Tax Foundation, if Trump makes good on all his tariff threats, the average tariff rate on all imports would be the highest since 1939.
“We estimate that average tariff rate on all imports would rise from its baseline level of 2.5% in 2024 to 13.8%,” it said.
Along with China, Canada and Mexico have vowed to respond with tariffs of their own.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada would impose a 25% tariff on $30 billion in goods and on another $125 billion 21 days later. A 10% tariff will also be imposed on Canadian energy. Mexico has also vowed to respond with retaliatory tariffs.