Beijing’s comments come after White House says Chinese exports could face duties of up to 245 percent.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said it will pay no attention to United States President Donald Trump’s “tariff numbers game” after the White House suggested Chinese exports are facing tariffs of up to 245 percent.
The White House disclosed the latest tariff rates in a fact sheet earlier this week.
The fact sheet includes Trump’s recent 125 percent tariff and earlier 20 percent tariff imposed in response to Beijing’s alleged failure to curb fentanyl exports to the US, as well as potential duties of between 7.5 percent and 100 percent that could be imposed following national security reviews launched under the Trade Act of 1974.
Beijing’s remarks on Thursday echoed those made last week by the Ministry of Finance, which described Trump’s escalating tariffs as a “joke” because they no longer have “any economic significance”.
China’s tariffs on US goods stand at 125 percent, but Beijing has also taken other non-tariff punitive measures, including limiting the release of Hollywood films.
Economists have said that Trump’s tariffs, if not eased, will bring a halt to most trade between the US and China due to the exorbitant rise in costs.
The World Trade Organization on Wednesday said that the volume of global trade is expected to decline by 0.2 percent in 2025 under current conditions – or “nearly three percentage points lower” than a low-tariff baseline scenario.
The spillover effect of Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs”, most of which have been paused until July, could lead to an “even sharper decline of 1.5 percent in global goods trade and hurt export-oriented least-developed countries,” the WTO said.
The UN’s Trade and Development (UNCTAD) office also revised its prediction for global growth downwards from 2.5 percent to 2.3 percent in 2025, noting in its assessment that growth below a threshold of 2.5 percent often signals a global recession.
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