Trade escalation: China imposes new tariffs on US products.

The ‘trade war’ between China and the United States has reached a new stage. Beijing has officially introduced retaliatory tariffs on a number of American products, in response to the tariff increases decided by Washington.

The measures include:15% tax on coal and liquefied natural gas from the United States.
10% tariffs on crude oil, agricultural machinery and heavy-duty vehicles.

At the same time, China has gone to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to challenge the new 10% US taxes on some of its products. Beijing has also tightened its export restrictions on five rare metals essential to the technology and defence industries, including tungsten and tellurium.

This response marks a new escalation in trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies, with potential repercussions for supply chains and markets for energy and strategic metals.