Beijing - Saba:
China announced today, Tuesday, the imposition of additional customs duties on American goods starting from March 10.
The Chinese Ministry of Finance reported that additional customs duties will be imposed on some goods imported from the United States, noting that the duties included 15% on wheat and 10% on beef, fruits, vegetables and dairy products.
For its part, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced in a statement that "Beijing has filed a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization due to the increase in US customs duties."
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce confirmed that "China will vigorously defend its legitimate rights and interests in accordance with the rules of the World Trade Organization, and will maintain the multilateral trading system and the international trade and economic system."
The statement pointed out that the increase in US tariffs on Chinese goods violates the rules of the World Trade Organization and undermines trade and economic cooperation between Beijing and Washington, saying: "The unilateral customs measures taken by the United States seriously violate the rules of the World Trade Organization and undermine the foundation of trade and economic cooperation between China and the United States, and China expresses its strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition to it."
The Ministry of Commerce also announced that Beijing has included 15 US companies on the dual-use export control list to protect national security, noting the ban on the import of genetic sequencing devices from the American company "Ilumina".
The White House reported yesterday, Monday, that US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to raise tariffs on Chinese imports to 20%, justifying this by what he described as Beijing's failure to curb the trafficking of fentanyl.
Trump stressed, at the same time, that "there is no longer room for Canada and Mexico to avoid similar tariff increases", following a temporary suspension last February.
The United States is an important trade market for China, Canada and Mexico, while Washington's neighbors (Canada and Mexico) are likely to be more affected by this increase than China, which has the world's second-largest economy.
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