Beijing - Saba:
Beijing will file a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization, China's Commerce Ministry said on Sunday, in response to tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.
"China expresses strong dissatisfaction with and firmly opposes this order," the ministry said in a statement in response to Trump's executive order to impose tariffs on China.
"The Chinese side calls on the United States to correct its wrong actions, find common ground, address problems on the basis of the principles of equality, mutual benefit and mutual respect, conduct frank dialogue, enhance cooperation and manage differences," it added.
On Sunday, Trump issued an executive order imposing 25 percent tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports and 10 percent on goods from China starting Tuesday, and announced that they would remain in effect until the end of a national emergency over fentanyl and illegal immigration to the United States.
"The extraordinary threat posed by illegal immigrants and drugs, including deadly fentanyl, constitutes a national emergency under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act," the White House said in a statement. "Until the crisis is mitigated, President Donald Trump is implementing an additional 25 percent tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico and an additional 10 percent tariff on imports from China. Energy resources from Canada will be subject to a lower 10 percent tariff."
"President Trump is taking bold action to hold Mexico, Canada, and China accountable for their promises to stop illegal immigration and stop the flow of toxic fentanyl and other drugs into our country," the statement added, noting that "the flow of contraband drugs like fentanyl into the United States, through illicit distribution networks, has created a national emergency, including a public health crisis."
"Mexican drug trafficking organizations have strong alliances with the Mexican government. The Mexican government has provided safe havens for cartels to engage in the manufacture and transport of dangerous drugs, which have collectively led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of American victims from drug overdoses.
This alliance jeopardizes U.S. national security, and we must eliminate the influence of these dangerous cartels. There is also a growing presence of Mexican cartels operating fentanyl and nitrazine laboratories in Canada. A recent study has indicated increased domestic fentanyl production in Canada, and their growing footprint in international drug distribution."
Trump had previously announced plans to increase tariffs by 10 percent on goods from China and signed an executive order imposing 25 percent tariffs on all goods from Mexico and Canada.
During his first term as president, Trump imposed new tariffs on steel and aluminum. At the end of 2022, another trade war began to loom between America and its European partners after the United States passed an anti-inflation law that Europe described as unfair competition. In response, the European Union imposed customs duties on American goods.
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