China-US trade war: latest tariffs take effect as sides seek to get talks back on track
- Washington levies punitive duties on US$110 billion of Chinese goods as first tranche of Beijing’s tariffs on US$75 billion of US imports take effect at noon on Sunday
- Donald Trump says negotiations will resume in US capital this month but China yet to confirm such a plan
A new round of punitive tariffs imposed by the United States and China took effect on Sunday in the latest escalation of their 14-month trade war, and as the two sides continued to struggle to reach agreement on a possible resumption of negotiations.
The measures came into effect at 12.01pm Beijing time, 12.01am in Washington.
The US levied a new 15 per cent tariff on about US$110 billion worth of Chinese products, including clothing, food, household goods, Bluetooth ear buds and televisions. It is the first tranche of a two-part duty on US$300 billion worth of imports – or virtually all of the Chinese goods that have yet to be hit – with the second round set to take effect on December 15.
US President Donald Trump said last month he would delay implementing tariffs on the second batch of goods – which includes phones, laptops and other consumer electronics – to prevent American shoppers being hit with price rises during the Christmas season.
He announced the new tariffs on August 1 after the latest round of trade talks in late July in Shanghai failed to produce a breakthrough.
In response, Beijing said it would raise existing tariffs on US$75 billion worth of US goods – including soybeans – by between 5 and 10 per cent, in two steps, on Sunday and again on December 15, in line with the US schedule.
