China imposes retaliatory duties of 34% on goods from the United States

The Chinese authorities have decided to impose additional duties of 34% on goods from the United States. The Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China noted that these measures are «retaliatory duties» on Washington's previously announced actions. The new duties will be effective from April 10.

In addition, the agency announced the introduction of export controls on seven types of rare earth metals, which are necessary for the production of high-tech products, including computer chips. In particular, we are talking about elements such as gadolinium and yttrium.

Beijing also announced that it had filed a lawsuit under the dispute resolution mechanism of the World Trade Organization (WTO) due to the duties imposed by the United States.

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced the introduction of «reciprocal» duties for foreign trading partners, which include 185 countries. The minimum level of basic duties will be 10%, but for some countries it will be calculated individually depending on the US trade deficit with these countries. For example, duties will amount to 34% for China, 20% for the European Union, and 24% for Japan.