China retaliated immediately Tuesday as a 10% U.S. tariff on all Chinese goods went into effect, announcing a series of measures including its own levies of 10% to 15% on some U.S. products.
Starting Feb. 10, China will impose an additional tariff of 15% on coal and liquefied natural gas and a 10% tariff on crude oil, agricultural machinery, large-displacement automobiles and pickup trucks, the government said.
The Chinese announcement came minutes after the U.S. tariff took effect at 12:01 a.m. ET, the only one to go ahead after President Donald Trump paused 25% tariffs he had announced on goods from Canada and Mexico.
The failure to forestall tit-for-tat tariffs with China raises the risk of a spiraling trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.
“This unilateral tariff hike by the U.S. side seriously violates World Trade Organization rules, does nothing to solve its own problems, and undermines normal China–U.S. economic and trade cooperation,” the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council, China’s Cabinet, said in a statement.
In addition, Beijing announced an investigation into Google for alleged anti-trust violations, and export controls on items related to tungsten and other rare earth elements that are critical components of high-tech products.
It also said U.S. gene sequencing company Illumina and PVH Corp., the owner of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, would be added to the “unreliable entity list,” restricting their ability to operate in China.
The additional U.S. tariff “seriously violates WTO rules and is an egregious act, representing typical unilateralism and trade protectionism,” a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said.
The U.S. has blocked the appointments of appellate judges to the World Trade Organization since Trump’s first term, leaving it largely unable to mediate international trade disputes. But China could still use a lawsuit to gather international support against the U.S. tariffs.