Merely hours after Donald Trump increased the tariffs on China, Beijing came down heavily on Washington saying it was ready to battle the “trade war” to a “bitter end”.
“If the United States… persists in waging a tariff war, a trade war, or any other kind of war, the Chinese side will fight them to the bitter end,” Lin Jian, China’s foreign ministry spokesman said.
In response to Washington’s tariffs, China announced that it will impose an additional 15% tarrifs on key agricultural products from the United States.
This includes products including chicken, pork, soy, and beef. The commerce ministry stated these tariffs will take effect on 10 March, following President Donald Trump’s decision to increase tariffs on Chinese imports to 20%. The new measures apply a 15% tariff on US-grown chicken, wheat, corn, and cotton, while soybeans, pork, beef, seafood, fruit, vegetables, and dairy products will face an additional 10% duty.
Additionally, Beijing has placed ten more US firms on its unreliable entity list, barring them from engaging in China-related trade and investment. The companies affected include Teledyne Brown Engineering, Huntington Ingalls Industries, Cubic Corporation, and ACT1 Federal. Senior executives from these firms will also be banned from entering China, and their work permits and residency privileges will be revoked. China’s Commerce Ministry cited arms sales to Taiwan as the reason for these measures.
Last month, China had added PVH Group and Illumina to the same list, and it has now expanded restrictions further by adding 15 more US firms to its export control list. These include General Dynamics Land Systems and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, among others, effectively cutting them off from receiving dual-use exports.
China remains a major importer of US farm products, though purchases dropped after Trump initiated a trade war. In 2021-22, US farm exports to China reached record highs, totalling $33.8 billion in 2023. However, China has been diversifying its agricultural imports, increasing purchases from Brazil and Argentina.
Meanwhile, Trump’s tariffs on Canada and Mexico also came into effect, taxing imports at 25%, with Canadian energy products subject to 10% duties. Canada has responded by imposing 25% tariffs on $107 billion worth of American goods, with immediate action on $21 billion of them. Mexican officials have yet to announce their own countermeasures.