China raised import duties by up to 25 percent on 128 US products, including frozen pork and certain fruits and nuts, in response to US tariff hike on imports of aluminum and steel.
The revised duties, effective April 2, were announced on Sunday. They involve US exports to China of nearly $3 billion, China’s Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on March 24.
The ministry said it was suspending its obligations to the World Trade Organization (WTO) to reduce tariffs on 120 US goods, involving $977 million in US exports to China.
These include fresh fruits, dried fruits and nut products, wines, modified ethanol, American ginseng, and seamless steel pipes – on which a 15 percent tariff will be levied.
Eight other products, including pork (for which China is the third biggest export market for the US) and scrap aluminum, will be subject to additional tariffs of 25 percent.
The ministry said the decision was meant to “balance losses to Chinese interests as a result of tariffs levied by the US government on steel and aluminum imports.”
Earlier, US President Donald Trump had announced plans to impose tariffs of more than $50 billion on Chinese goods, Reuters reported.
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