Source : NEW INDIAN EXPRESS NEWS
Trump’s proposal for a deal came amid mounting concerns among the US over Beijing’s tariffs as China imports the largest agricultural produce, amounting to about USD 30 billion from the US.
Reports from the US say Trump’s tariffs have raised concerns and unrest among American farmers who vastly depend on bulk exports of their produce to China.
Significantly, Beijing also announced immediate export control measures on certain rare earth-related items over which it has a near monopoly, which will have a bearing on US defence industries.
China’s Ministry of Commerce and General Administration of Customs said export control measures on certain items relate to seven types of medium and heavy rare earths.
The measures, effective immediately, aim to better safeguard national security and interests and fulfil non-proliferation and other international obligations, the spokesperson said on Friday.
Rare earth elements, a group of 17 metals, are used in defence technologies, including missiles, lasers, vehicle-mounted systems such as tanks, and military communications.
Commenting on US, China tariffs, Tu Xinquan, dean of the China Institute for WTO Studies at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, said that such rapid, intensive and multi-pronged countermeasures are unprecedented in the world’s history, proving that China will not sit back amid unilateral bullying tariffs.
“This isn’t just tit-for-tat. These countermeasures, including both tariff and non-tariff measures, aim to directly hit the weak spots of the US to make it feel the real pain,” Tu told state-run China Daily.
Bai Ming, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said that China, as the world’s second-largest economy, has taken the lead in resisting US trade protectionism.
“These countermeasures are not only to protect China’s own interests, but also to safeguard the stable operation of the global trading system,” he emphasised.
SOURCE :- NEW INDIAN EXPRESS
