The new Chinese tariffs are set to take effect on Thursday next week, announces the regime in Beijing according to news agencies. A communiqué from China's Ministry of Commerce does not mince words. "This is typical bullying from a party", writes the authority, referring to the tariffs that USA's President Donald Trump announced against almost the entire world on Wednesday.
Trump's tariffs vary in size, some countries only got 10 percent. China is punished in the higher range with 34 percent on everything sold to the USA, according to the list the President published on Wednesday evening. The response is thus the same percentage rate in the other direction, on all goods sold from the USA to China.
At the same time, Beijing means that the USA's measures "do not follow the rules of international trade and seriously harm China's legitimate rights and interests". China is therefore submitting a lawsuit against the USA's new tariffs to the WTO.
In order to pressure Trump further, export restrictions are introduced for seven so-called rare earth metals, including gadolinium and yttrium, which are important in modern technology.
However, the communiqué opens a door for negotiations, with the call to Trump to "immediately" remove the tariffs and resolve the issue with "fair and equal dialogue".
