China to impose new tariffs on $75 billion of US imports: govt

China announced yesterday it will hit US imports worth $75 billion with new tariffs starting September 1 and December 15, as retaliation for Washington’s planned tariff hikes in a bruising trade war. The punitive tariffs will range from 5 per cent to 10pc on 5,078 items from the US, China’s state council tariff office said.

Beijing also announced it will impose a 25pc tariff on US autos and a 5pc tariff on auto parts starting December 15. China had lifted punitive tariffs on American cars and auto parts earlier this year as a goodwill measure while trade talks were underway.

The tariff hikes by the US “have led to the continuous escalation of China-US economic and trade frictions, violating the consensus reached by the two heads of state in Argentina and the consensus reached in Osaka,” China’s State Council Tariff Commission Office said in a statement.

US President Donald Trump has imposed steep tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese goods, with a further $300 billion in imports targeted for new duties in two more rounds, September 1 and December 15.