As US President Donal Trump doubled the tariff on Chinese imports to 20%, China announced 10% to15% tariffs on US agriculture imports and is also targeting US companies with retaliatory action.
On Tuesday, China's commerce ministry added a group of US firms to its export control list, slapping additional tariffs of 10-15 percent on selected American goods and announcing plans to bring a case to the World Trade Organisation over the matter.
A 15 percent duty will be applied to imports of US poultry and agricultural products, including wheat, corn, and cotton, according to a government statement. Tariffs of 10 percent will be applied to imports of soybeans, pork, beef, fruit, vegetables, and dairy products.
The 15 US firms that will be added to China’s export control list – which requires approval from the ministry before shipments are permitted – include a number of companies linked to defence and security. The restrictions cover “dual-use” items or goods that carry both civilian and military applications, The South China Morning Post reported.
Among those targeted were Leidos, an aviation, information technology, and biomedical research company; Gibbs & Cox, the US’ largest independent naval architecture and marine engineering firm. Two artificial intelligence firms, Shield Al and HavocAI, were among those affected, as were drone makers Skydio and Red Six Solutions as well as Rapid Flight LLC and Neros Technologies, specialists in unmanned systems.
Satellite technology company Aerkomm was also on the list, as were General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, General Dynamics Land Systems and Aero Vironment.
Some of the other companies brought under sanction have been accused of taking part in arms sales to Taiwan or engaging in military cooperation with the island.
Earlier on Tuesday, Beijing expressed strong opposition to the actions from Washington, vowing to take “all necessary countermeasures” to defend its interests.
“We urge the United States to immediately withdraw the unreasonable unilateral tariffs,” a ministry spokesman said in an online statement. “We should return to a path towards equal talks to resolve differences.”
So far, there has been no indication that bilateral talks on tariffs are being planned.
