World

China to hit US with tariffs on US imports worth $16bn

August 8, 2018 4:10 pm

China’s commerce ministry has announced that it will start imposing 25% import duties targeting $16bn (£12.4bn) worth of US goods.

The Chinese counter-move will take effect immediately after the US imposes tariffs on the same amount of Chinese goods on 23 August.

The list of US imports affected by the taxes includes coal, oil, chemicals and some medical equipment.

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Last month, the US imposed duties of 25% on Chinese imports worth $34bn.

The US is also considering further tariffs on another $200bn worth of Chinese goods which could come into effect in September.

For its part, China has threatened to ratchet up the tit-for-tat trade war by slapping tariffs on another $60bn of American imports.

At the same time, Beijing reported a $28.1bn trade surplus with the US in July, just below the record $28.9bn seen in June. But it was 11% higher than in the same month last year.