China announced additional tariffs of 34 per cent on U.S. goods today, the most serious escalation in a trade war with US President Donald Trump that has fed fears of a recession.
In the standoff between the world’s top two economies, China also announced controls on exports of some rare earth elements and filed a complaint at the World Trade Organisation. Nations from Canada to China have readied retaliation in a mounting trade war after Mr. Trump raised U.S. tariff barriers to their highest level in more than a century this week, leading to a plunge in world financial markets.
Investment bank JP Morgan said it now sees a 60 per cent chance of the global economy entering recession by year end, up from 40 per cent previously. U.S. stock futures fell sharply today, signaling more losses on Wall Street, after China retaliated with fresh tariffs a day after the Trump administration’s sweeping levies knocked off 2.4 trillion dollars from U.S. equities.
“The purpose of the Chinese government’s implementation of export controls on relevant items in accordance with the law is to better safeguard national security and interests and to fulfill international obligations such as non-proliferation,” China’s commerce ministry said in a statement.
The Chinese government also said it would add 27 US companies to lists of companies subject to trade sanctions or export controls, reported the Associated Press. Beijing has also announced that it will file a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization (WTO) over the latest tariffs.