President Donald Trump’s blanket 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada took effect on Tuesday, an extraordinary action aimed at bringing America’s top trading partners to heel.
Beijing retaliated on Tuesday by announcing 15% tariffs on chicken, wheat, corn, and cotton imports from the US, according to a statement from the State Council Tariff Commission. Additionally, a 10% tariff on “sorghum, soybeans, pork, beef, aquatic products, fruits, vegetables, and dairy products,” was also imposed, it said.
Separately, China’s Ministry of Commerce said it added 15 American companies, including drone maker Skydio, to its export control list, which would bar Chinese companies from exporting dual-use equipment to them.
China’s retaliatory tariffs followed a “restrained, targeted approach aimed at causing pain to those industries that matter the most to the supporters of the Trump administration,” said Alfredo Montufar-Helu, head of the China Center for the Conference Board. He noted China’s tariffs give it room for negotiations to potentially avoid even more damaging tariffs down the road.
Speaking at a regular briefing on Tuesday, Lin Jian, a spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry, said: “China will fight till the end” if the US “insists on waging a tariff war, trade war or any other kind of war.”
“I want to reiterate that the Chinese people have never feared evil or ghosts, nor have we ever bowed to hegemony or bullying. Pressure, coercion and threats are not the right ways to engage with China. Trying to exert maximum pressure on China is a miscalculation and a mistake,” he added.
China announced more measures targeting America on Tuesday. These include stopping lumber imports from the United States, suspending the permits of three US companies to export soybeans to the country and an anti-dumping investigation into some imports of American fiber optic products.
In Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said hours before the tariffs took effect that Ottawa would immediately respond with tariffs on C$30 billion ($20.7 billion) of US goods. By March 25, he said Canada would impose an additional C$125 billion ($86.2
billion) tariff on American goods.
“Canada will not let this unjustified decision go unanswered,” Trudeau said in a statement.
The premier of Ontario, Canada’s largest province, has also repeated his earlier threat to cut off energy supply to the US in response to Trump’s tariffs.
“If they want to try to annihilate Ontario, I will do everything, including cut off their energy, with a smile on my face. And I’m encouraging every other province to do the same,” Doug Ford told reporters on Monday, adding that eastern US relies on “our energy – they need to fell the pain.”
