Xinhua Headlines: Fears of trade war after U.S. decides to levy tariffs on China

    Source: Xinhua| 2018-03-23 20:42:13|Editor: Xiang Bo
    Video PlayerClose

    Xinhua Headlines: Fears of trade war after U.S. decides to levy tariffs on China

    The graphic shows China announced that it is considering higher tariffs for imported U.S. products worth about 3 billion U.S. dollars to balance losses caused by the U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from China on March 23, 2018. Washington is dragging Beijing into a possible massive trade war as it decided on Thursday to unilaterally impose massive tariffs against imports from China, the latest move that has posed a threat to a rule-based global trading system. (Xinhua/Meng Lijing)

    by Xinhua writer Wang Lei

    BEIJING, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Washington is dragging Beijing into a possible massive trade war as it decided on Thursday to unilaterally impose massive tariffs against imports from China, the latest move that has posed a threat to a rule-based global trading system.

    Amid strong warnings from business groups, U.S. President Donald Trump signed a memorandum that could impose tariffs on up to 60 billion U.S. dollars of Chinese products, fueling fears that the world's two largest economies could be sliding towards a trade war.

    POSSIBLE TRADE WAR

    In the memorandum, based on a so-called Section 301 investigation into alleged Chinese intellectual property and technology transfer practices, Trump has directed U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to publish a list of proposed Chinese goods that could be subject to tariffs in 15 days. For the U.S. Treasury Department, it has 60 days to make recommendations on restrictions on Chinese investments.

    Also, Washington is pressing China to reduce its 375-billion-dollar trade surplus with the United States by 100 billion dollars.

    The punitive actions, which came on the heels of the U.S. government's steel and aluminum tariffs that also mainly targeted China, has been met with Beijing's tough tone and possible counter-measures.

    It has heightened concerns that widespread trade battles could severely undermine the multilateral trading system and destabilize the global economy that has just recovered from a financial crisis starting a decade ago.

    China announced Friday a plan for reciprocal tariffs on imported U.S. products worth about 3 billion dollars to balance losses caused by the U.S. metal restrictions against China.

    The measures, or the suspension of tariff concessions, will target 128 U.S. products, including pork, wine, and seamless steel tubes.

    China will take legal action under the World Trade Organization (WTO) framework and work with other WTO members to safeguard the stability and authority of the multilateral trade rules, the country's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said, reiterating China's stance of not wanting or fearing any trade wars.

    MARKET FEARS SPURRED

    In the name of safeguarding national security and protecting domestic jobs, Washington's arbitrary move has unleashed plenty of criticism within both countries and beyond.

    The U.S. administration should "pause on the brink of a precipice" and not put bilateral trade relations in dangerous place, the MOC urged, saying that China still embraces constructive talks in the spirit of a win-win outcome.

    "If a trade war were initiated by the United States, China would fight to the end to defend its own legitimate interests with all necessary measures," the Chinese Embassy in the United States stressed.

    In the eyes of trade experts and business leaders, the restrictive measures are futile to address the "unfair trade" the Trump administration has blustered for months.

    Stephen Roach, a senior fellow at Yale University's Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, slammed Trump's view that protectionism will lead to a more prosperous and powerful country, saying that was a "fundamental misunderstanding between cause and effect."

    Lacking a high domestic savings rate and wanting to consume and grow, America must import surplus savings from abroad while running massive current-account and trade deficits to attract foreign capital, Roach said in an interview with Xinhua.

    Trade problems can only be solved by boosting domestic savings instead of imposing tariffs, he explained.

    Wallace Cheng, country director for China with Geneva-based think tank International Center for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD), said that targeting Chinese imports are a case of Washington "shooting itself in the foot."

    The downward move will harm the U.S. economy as American consumers will have to pay higher prices for goods, warned Fredrik Erixon, director of the Brussels-based think tank, the European Center for International Political Economy.

    Erixon was echoed by senior Vice President of Nike Sean O'Hollaren, who said at a reception hosted at the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco that "the U.S.-China trade is not a zero sum game, and what China gained does not mean the loss of the United States."

    Fears of a trade war shook the global stock and currency markets after Trump's announcement, with the benchmark S&P 500 Index slumping the most since early February and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping nearly 3 percent on Thursday.

    Meanwhile in Asia, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index on Friday plunged 4.5 percent to 20,671.11 and South Korea's Kospi tumbled 3.1 percent. Both China's Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong's Hang Seng have lost over 3 percent. Benchmarks in Southeast Asia and Australia also fell.

    (Xinhua reporters Gao Pan in Washington, Wang Naishui, Li Ming in New York, Shuai Rong in Brussels, Peter Kenny and Ling Xin in Geneva, Ye Zaiqi in San Francisco, Liu Liwei and Gao Lu in Houston also contributed to the story.)

       1 2 3 4 5 Next  

    KEY WORDS:
    EXPLORE XINHUANET
    010020070750000000000000011100001370606301
    主站蜘蛛池模板: 777米奇影视第四色| 久久精品视频一区二区三区| 老汉色av影院| 国产色视频免费| 中文字幕日韩丝袜一区| 欧美大香线蕉线伊人图片| 公和我做好爽添厨房| 麻豆一卡2卡三卡4卡网站在线 | 公车校花小柔h| 黄色一级片在线看| 欧美乱大交xxxxx| 十七岁免费完整版bd| 黄网站在线播放| 国产精品视频免费一区二区| 一级毛片免费不卡| 日本高清成本人视频一区| 亚洲成人网在线播放| 窝窝午夜看片成人精品| 国产乱子伦精品视频| 香港三级欧美国产精品| 天天综合网天天综合色| 亚洲情a成黄在线观看| 激情五月婷婷网| 在线毛片片免费观看| 中国人免费观看高清在线观看二区| 旧里番yy6080| 亚洲最大成人网色香蕉| 男女一进一出猛进式抽搐视频| 国产一级特黄aa级特黄裸毛片| 玖玖爱zh综合伊人久久| 国产香蕉精品视频| wtfpass欧美极品angelica| 无码aⅴ精品一区二区三区| 久久综合狠狠色综合伊人| 欧美日韩亚洲国产精品| 国产午夜激无码av毛片| www.色亚洲| 护士的护士服被扒了下来小说| 久久精品国内一区二区三区| 欧美性大战XXXXX久久久√| 亚洲色欲久久久综合网|