Beijing [China], February 2 : China on Sunday said it "firmly opposes" the new tarrifs imposed on the country by US President Donald Trump and warned of taking "corresponding countermeasures" to resolutely safeguard its own rights and interests.
In a statement, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said that it would file a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization against the US for its "wrongful practice," the Global Times reported.
"China is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposes US tariffs imposed on Chinese goods," the ministry said.
On Saturday Trump announced, that effective from Tuesday, the US would impose an additional 10 percent tariff on all goods imported from China on top of existing duties.
Trump also announced he is implementing a 25 per cent additional tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico.
The measures, as per a statement from the White House was being taken to to hold Mexico, Canada, and China accountable to their promises of halting illegal immigration and stopping poisonous fentanyl and other contraband drugs from flowing into the US.
Chinese officials have failed to take the actions necessary to stem the flow of precursor chemicals to known criminal cartels and shut down money laundering by transnational criminal organizations, the White House statement read.
Additional tariffs are not constructive and will undermine future cooperation on drug control, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated.
The latest US trade protectionist measure has drawn widespread opposition both domestically and internationally, the Xinhua News Agency said today.
"The unilateral imposition of tariffs by the US seriously violates WTO rules. It does not contribute to resolving its own issues, but also undermines normal economic and trade cooperation between China and the US," the Chinese foreign ministry statement read.
"There are no winners in a trade war or tariff war," China's foreign ministry said, adding that the additional duties would "inevitably affect and damage future bilateral cooperation on drug control".
Trump had invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) in imposing the tariffs.
Meanwhile, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo announced that Mexico would impose retaliatory tariffs and strongly rejected Trump's "slander" that the Mexican government has ties with criminal organizations.
She proposed creating a working group with top public health and security teams from both countries to address shared concerns.
In a post on social media she said, "We categorically reject the White House's slander against the Mexican government for having alliances with criminal organizations, as well as any intention of intervention in our territory. If such an alliance exists anywhere, it is in the United States armouries that sell high-powered weapons to these criminal groups, as demonstrated by the United States Department of Justice itself in January of this year."
Canada's prime minister, Justin Trudeau, on Saturday night announced in a news conference that Canada would retaliate by placing 25 per cent tariffs "against USD 155 billion worth of American goods," with the first set of tariffs taking effect Tuesday.
"This will include immediate tariffs on USD 30 billion worth of goods as of Tuesday, followed by further tariffs on USD 125 billion worth of American products in 21 days' time to allow Canadian companies and supply chains to seek to find alternatives," Trudeau said.
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