The United States and China today imposed new tariffs on USD 16 billion of each other’s goods, while a Chinese delegation arrived in Washington to try to avoid further escalation of the trade dispute between the world’s two biggest economies, Bloomberg reports.
China’s Ministry of Commerce has said the country would lodge a complaint about the new US tariffs to the World Trade Organization. The US will add an additional 25 percent tariff on Chinese imports including motorcycles, steam turbines and railway cars. China will retaliate with a similar tax on products like coal, medical instruments, waste products, cars and buses.
This week’s talks in Washington are the first face-to-face negotiations since June, but they are not expected to lead to much progress as they involve low-level officials rather than senior decision makers.
A report by Moody’s Investors Service said that “US trade tensions with China are more likely to worsen this year, weighing on global growth in 2019.” Analysts also added that most of the impact of the tariffs will be felt in 2019.