Trade war escalates as China says it will impose tariffs on 128 U.S. exports

The Washington Post ^ | April 1, 2018 | Damian Paletta

[Pinkbell]

The Chinese government plans to immediately impose tariffs on 128 U.S. products, including pork and certain fruits, a direct response to President Trump’s recent moves to pursue numerous trade restrictions against Beijing.

If U.S. goods become more expensive in China, Chinese buyers could opt to purchase products from Europe, South America or elsewhere, though White House officials have routinely discounted the likelihood of this.

Beijing’s move could force Trump to decide whether to follow through on expansive trade restrictions he had hoped would crack down on China even if Beijing is now threatening to harm U.S. companies that rely on Asian markets for buyers.

A Twitter post from the “People’s Daily,” an English-language news organization controlled by the Chinese government, said Sunday that “China imposes tariffs on 128 items of imports from the U.S. including pork and fruit products starting Monday as a countermeasure in response to a previous U.S. move to slap tariffs on steel and aluminum imports: Ministry of Finance.”

The Chinese government said the tariffs would effectively serve as retaliation for restrictions Trump announced last month.

In early March, Trump said he planned to apply steep tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. Since then, he has exempted numerous countries, but he has not waived the impact on China.

And in late March, Trump took additional steps toward imposing tariffs on $60 billion in Chinese goods and limiting China’s ability to invest in the U.S. technology industry. He has alleged that the U.S. government had been too complacent in allowing Chinese firms to steal U.S. intellectual property and abuse trade rules. He has accused China of trade practices that led to the closure of 60,000 factories and the loss of 6 million jobs.

[Reno89519]

How about we put 100% tariff on all non-essentials from China? Besides, we should not be doing business with China. Our money has built up their military.

[greeneyes]

AMEN.

[SunkenCiv]

Our POTUS imposes restrictions on aluminum and steel, and the Chinese respond with restrictions on pork and some fruits. IOW, the problem was much worse than the drive-by media has said, is saying, or will ever say.

Thanks Pinkbell.

[rolling_stone]

we have been feeding the tiger that is going to eat us....

[Teacher317]

They don’t buy that much fruit or pork from us anyway

[SpaceBar]

The Washington Post is safe since we produce most of our bullshit domestically.

[marktwain]

Trade is often a cause of war, as noted in “War Before Civilization”.

[GOPJ]

DO WE REALLY WANT TO BE DEPENDENT ON THE CHINESE FOR ANYTHING?

Thank God Trump is saving steel mills ... in a war situation China would put the screws to us. They have no concept of ‘fairness’ to anyone but themselves.

We’ve been forewarned.

[BBell]

The great walmart of China would be really hurt by that.

[Eleutheria5]

From 2006 to 2009, I worked in Winn Dixie, and noticed that all their apple juice was made in China, whereupon I stopped buying it. There are plenty of apples in the United States, so WTF. Everything in WalMart, seems like it’s made in China. China would be a great market for US products, but I doubt they buy even a fraction of US goods in proportion to what the US buys from China.

[Teacher317]

When dealing with the Chinese government, always, always, always expect them to behave like petulant, spoiled, 11 year old girls. It might as well be called Neener-Neener Diplomacy. They whine about every tiny perceived slight, and often lash out in some of the most bizarre ways possible. Tariffs on 128 US products will do nothing positive for their economy, but they simply do not care. All that matters is that they "give back, in kind, but bigger", for every single thing that doesn't go their way.

One of the easiest examples to give insight into their childishness took place in 2007. The US allowed the Dalai Lama to visit (and I actually rode in an elevator with him on that visit!), against the Chinese stern warnings against allowing such a war criminal into OUR country. So, the churlish little bi**hes in the Central Party refused entry into the port of Hong Kong to the Kitty Hawk carrier group on Thanksgiving... despite the resupply and changeover of staff etc planned long in advance... and with hundreds, of not thousands, of sailors and family members with flights and hotels and plans to enjoy it together, all had to change plans or cancel plans within a day's notice. Then the ChiComs quickly "changed their mind, based on humanitarian considerations" in classic passive-aggressive style, just after everyone had dealt with the changes and expenses, and the carrier group already left for Yokohama.

I love visiting China and the Chinese people. Their government and hyper-bureaucracy is just annoying beyond measure... when they aren't running roughshod over human rights, of course.

[Teacher317]

I doubt they buy even a fraction of US goods in proportion to what the US buys from China.

The huge trade deficit with China is pretty widely-known. In 2016, they sent $460bn worth of goods here (mostly vast amounts of very cheap stuff), we sent $120bn there (after grains ($20bn), it is mostly big-ticket items like aircraft ($15bn), electrical machinery ($12bn), machinery ($11bn) and vehicles ($11bn)....

it takes a large number of containers on ships to send 4 million shirts worth $24m, but only a handful to ship back $24m worth of machinery.

[DaxtonBrown]

I’m building a 3D printer. ALL the parts come from China. We are slowly slitting our own throats.

While I enjoy the low prices, they mean it is impossible to compete in the US. Something has to give.

[Terry Mross]

Ross Perot said the #1 factor should be “Us it good for America?”. Why have the last 3 presidents always sold us short? Could it be the NWO?

[cba123]

Perot got it.

Way back when. He got it.

EVERYONE ELSE running. Everyone in both political parties. Every president since, has been 100% selling out America.

For the entire last generation.

Everyone.

[JPJones]

“The US allowed the Dalai Lama to visit (and I actually rode in an elevator with him on that visit!), “

My 75 year old mother almost ran over the Lama at Brandeis University a few years back.

[Lazamataz]

The only solution is total nuclear war.

[DaveA37]

“it will impose tariffs on 128 U.S. exports”......

So what’s new? China has been screwing the U.S. for decades. Nothing changed should the impose more tariffs.

[4yearlurker]

About two weeks ago my wife bought a new broom at Wal-Mart to sweep the kitchen floor. She paid between 5 & 10 dollars for it. Made in China. The very first time she used it the broom head broke clean off the handle. She took it right back. Let China keep their junk. I'm sure a manufacturer stateside will fill the void.