GENEVA: The sweeping tariffs threatened or already imposed by US President Donald Trump risk triggering inflation, market distortions, and even a global recession, China said on Tuesday (Feb 19) at the World Trade Organization.
After returning to office on Jan 20, Trump hit China, the world’s second-biggest economy, with an additional 10 per cent levy on products entering the United States.
Trump signed executive orders last week imposing new 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium, due to come into effect on Mar 12.
And he said Tuesday that US tariffs on imported cars would be around 25 per cent, providing new information on duties he is expected to unveil around Apr 2.
“The world faces a series of tariff shocks,” said Li Chenggang, China’s ambassador to the WTO, at the first meeting of the year of the global trade body’s decision-making General Council.
“The US has imposed or threatened tariffs on its trading partners, including China, unilaterally and arbitrarily, blatantly violating WTO rules. China firmly opposes such measures.
“These tariff shocks heighten economic uncertainty, disrupt global trade, and risk domestic inflation, market distortion, or even global recession.”
Li went on to say that US unilateralism threatened to upend the rules-based multilateral trading system.
