China to file WTO complaint over US tariff policies

(CLO) China's Ministry of Commerce said on Sunday that the country will file a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO), after the United States announced it would impose an additional 10% tariff on goods from China.

China's Commerce Ministry said the new tariffs do not solve the problems facing the United States and undermine normal economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.

"The unilateral imposition of tariffs by the United States is a serious violation of WTO rules. We urge the United States to consider and handle the fentanyl issue and other issues objectively and reasonably, instead of resorting to measures of threatening to impose tariffs on other countries," the ministry said in a statement.

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China's Foreign Ministry also said in a statement on Sunday that China expressed strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition to the latest move, and will take necessary countermeasures to firmly safeguard its legitimate rights and interests.

The US has imposed a 10% tariff on imports from China over the fentanyl issue. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said fentanyl is a US problem and China has one of the strictest and most thoroughly enforced drug control policies in the world.

"China urges the United States to correct its wrongdoings, maintain the hard-won progress in China-US drug control cooperation, and promote the stable, healthy and sustainable development of China-US relations," the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

China's Ministry of Public Security on Sunday also expressed strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition to the US decision to impose an additional 10% tariff on imports from China due to fentanyl-related reasons, Xinhua reported.

China is one of the countries with the strictest drug control policies in the world, a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Public Security said, adding that China has always resolutely fulfilled its international drug control obligations and actively participated in international anti-drug cooperation with countries around the world, including the United States.

The latest move comes after a strong year of international trade between the U.S. and China. In December alone, U.S. ports handled about 451,000 40-foot containers of goods from China, up 14.5% from the same period last year, according to trade data provider Descartes Systems Group.

Since 2018, the first round of US tariffs on China — introduced by the Trump administration and maintained by the Joe Biden administration — has had a significant impact.

The Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington DC points out that in 2018, two-way trade between China and the US was $659 billion. By 2024, this figure had dropped to $578 billion.

Under the Trump administration’s new executive order, the US will also impose a 25% tariff on goods from Mexico and Canada. For energy products from Canada, the US will only impose a 10% tariff.

Hoang Hai (according to Xinhua News Agency, China Daily, SCMP)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/cac-bo-nganh-trung-quoc-chi-trich-chinh-sach-ap-thue-moi-cua-my-tuyen-bo-se-kien-len-wto-post332771.html