China levies additional tariffs on $50 bln of US goods

China has raised tariffs on $50 billion of US goods including soybeans, aircraft and automobiles in response to increased duties by the US on Chinese goods.

The China Finance Ministry on Wednesday said it has decided to add 14 categories of 106 commodities originating in the US. A 25 percent tariff would be imposed these.

The implementation date for the tariff hike will be announced later, it said in a statement.

China will also impose tariffs at 25 percent on US imports of linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), PVC and other petrochemical products.

While Saudi and US petrochemical firms are the biggest exporters to China, Saudi firms could benefit from the charges imposed on US producers in case the trade war escalates between the two countries.

The new charges will make it difficult for US firms to maintain petrochemical exports to the Chinese market.

On Tuesday, the US had threatened to apply import duties on nearly $50 billion in Chinese imports across 1,300 categories of products.

The China Finance Ministry, in its statement, said the US measures violate the rules of the World Trade Organization.

The Asian country’s counter-measure was a “a just act to defend its legitimate rights and interests and safeguard the multilateral trading system,” the Finance Ministry said.

Earlier this week, China raised import duties by up to 25 percent on 128 US products, including frozen pork and certain fruits and nuts, in response to US tariff hike on imports of aluminum and steel.