Two and half hours before the opening of the U.S. stock markets Wednesday morning, China announced its response to President Donald Trump’s hike of tariffs on all Chinese imports. China imposed a 50% retaliatory tariff on all U.S. goods, bringing the total counter-tariff to 84%.
And China added 12 American companies into its export control list, barring the export of dual-use items—-those with civilian and military applications—-to the companies. China also added six others to its unreliable entity list, which prohibits those companies from engaging in China-related import or export activities, and from making new investments within China.
And China continued its work on building a coalition against the Trump tariffs. On Tuesday Premier Li Qiang held a phone conversation with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The two leaders agreed to enhance communication and coordination to jointly safeguard free and open trade and uphold the multilateral trading system.
