China’ s tariffs on 16 billion U.S. dollars' worth of U.S. goods took effect at 12:01 p.m. BJT simultaneously with the U.S. initiating additional 25 percent tariffs on a similar amount of Chinese goods at 12:01 a.m. EDT (0401 GMT) on Thursday.
China decided to impose additional duties of 25 percent on U.S. products in response to a U.S. tariff move against Chinese products, according to a statement of the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council.
In this case, both China and the U.S. have made adjustments to their original lists of proposed tariffs.
The final tariff list from the U.S. targets 279 imported product lines, including China's semiconductors, electronics, plastics, chemicals and railway equipment. The U.S. Trade Representative removed five items from its original list after a 46-day public comment and review period found they would cause "severe economic harm."
The products struck from the list include intermodal shipping containers, floating docks, splitting and slicing machines for wood, bone and hard plastics, extremely thin slicing tools known as microtomes, and the gelling agent alginic acid.
China's final list targets 333 U.S. products from fuel and steel to autos and medical equipment. China has also adjusted the draft list it published in June after taking into account the advice of related government departments, industry associations and enterprises to best protect the interests of domestic consumers and companies.
The new list nearly tripled the number of goods subject to import duties. China added metal scraps and various types of motorcycles and cars along with other products to compensate for the gap on its tariff list caused by the exclusion of crude oil.
China strongly opposes the U.S. move of imposing additional tariffs on Chinese goods and is forced to fight back, according to a statement by China's Ministry of Commerce on Thursday.
