Donald Trump has sown the wind – and now America must reap the whirlwind. Beijing has today announced plans to slap an additional 34 per cent tax on all US imported goods from next Thursday. China had already applied tariffs – ranging from 10 to 15 per cent – to a range of American agricultural products after the last round of charges from the Trump administration.
But now, after Chinese goods were hit by this week’s hike, taking the rate to 54 per cent (the US had existing tariffs on China), Beijing has delivered fresh retaliation. Export controls have been imposed on seven rare earth elements critical to the production of consumer electronics. China has also filed a lawsuit with the World Trade Organisation in protest.
Following the announcements, European markets slumped further, with indexes in London, Berlin and Paris down more than 3 per cent. A wave of sell-offs has also wiped 5 per cent off the value of the Stoxx600 index, comprising Europe’s largest 600 companies.
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