China tariffs could be ‘tip of the iceberg’ in a ‘long, entrenched trade war’ analysts said.
The recent tariffs imposed by the Chinese government on over 128 U.S. produced goods, valued at around $3 billion will likely have negligible effects on a global scale.
“But it will provide a powerful signal to the U.S. and other countries looking to limit trade,” said Bloomberg.
In a statement released by China’s finance minister, it was clear that these new
tariffs were directly aimed at rebalancing trade relations with the U.S., after the Trump administration imposed large tariffs on Chinese manufactured steel and aluminum in late March.
China’s ability to hit back at Trump’s tariff war, though expected, will rattle the U.S. President who said a trade war was good because it is easy to win.
But tit-for-tat responses will put the U.S. on the defensive in the long run.
Meanwhile, S.Korea is deepening Vietnam ties as tensions With China, U.S. Linger.
Vietnam is on course to surpass the U.S. as Korean companies’ second-biggest export market.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in is looking to expand trade with Southeast Asia as one way for corporate giants such as Samsung Electronics Co. to diversify production bases and export markets.
Seoul sees the U.S. under President Donald Trump as an increasingly demanding and unreliable trade partner, while tensions with China over the U.S. Thaad missile-defense system have dragged on for more than a year, said Bloomberg.
Australia to benefit
China’s tariff hit of up to 25 percent for U.S. agriculture could be a big gain potentially for Australia, particularly for wine and certain nut and fruit producers, reported CNBC.
Agriculture industry executives say China curtailing U.S. soybean imports could be devastating to the American farm economy, because more than 60 percent of all soybeans exported now go to China.
The Chinese also get soybeans from South America and use most of the soybeans as protein to feed roughly 700 million pigs in the country or to make cooking oil, said CNBC.