China calls on United States to scrap tariff measures after court ruling
\n Beijing
\nChina is making a \u201cfull assessment\u201d of the US Supreme Court\u2019s tariff ruling and has urged Washington to lift \u201cunilateral tariff measures\u201d on its trading partners, warning that fighting between the two countries is \u201charmful\u201d.
\nThe comments from China\u2019s Commerce Ministry on Monday came days after the highest US court dealt President Donald Trump a stinging defeat by striking down many of the tariffs he has used in a global trade war, including some against rival China.
\nWithin hours of the ruling, Trump said he would impose a new 10% duty on US imports from all countries starting on Tuesday, only then to lift it to 15% in a move that seemed to surprise some of his own officials.
\n\u201cUS unilateral tariffs … violate international trade rules and US domestic law, and are not in the interests of any party,\u201d the Chinese ministry said.
\n\u201cCooperation between China and the United States is beneficial to both sides, but fighting is harmful,\u201d it added.
\nTrade and tariffs are expected to dominate the agenda for both China and the US ahead of a highly anticipated visit by Trump to China in late March and early April \u2014 when he will meet his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.
\nTrump\u2019s planned new levies are grounded in a separate but untested law, known as Section 122, that allows tariffs up to 15% but requires congressional approval to extend them after 150 days. No president has previously invoked Section 122, and its use could lead to further legal challenges.
\n\u201cChina will continue to pay close attention to this and firmly safeguard its interests,\u201d the Commerce Ministry said.
\nGao Lingyun, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, was cited by state-run Global Times as saying the US tariff decisions are \u201chighly arbitrary\u201d and were being wielded as a \u201cpolitical weapon.\u201d
\n\u201cTariff policy should be based on rigorous assessment, not political preference,\u201d he was quoted as saying.
\nThe US court\u2019s ruling invalidated a number of tariffs that the Trump administration had imposed on Asian export powerhouses from China and South Korea to Japan and Taiwan, the world\u2019s largest chipmaker and a key player in tech supply chains.
\nUncertainty looms amid new global tariffs
\nSouth Korea said it would continue to consult with the US to maintain a \u201cbalance of interests\u201d between the two countries, while its industry minister said there was concern among officals across industries, including cars, batteries and chips.
\n\u201cThe public and private sector need to work together to secure Korean companies\u2019 export competitiveness and diversify their markets,\u201d Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan said on Monday.
\nIndia said it had delayed plans to send a trade delegation to Washington this week to finalise an interim trade deal, chiefly because of fresh tariff uncertainty out of the US, according to a source in its trade ministry.
\nUS tariffs on Indian goods were set to be cut to 18%, while India agreed to buy US items worth $500 billion over five years, ranging from energy supplies to aircraft and parts, precious metals and technology products.
\nIn Europe, meanwhile, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde warned of business risks, saying companies want predictability, not legal battles. She said any new tariff plans must be clearly defined to avoid further challenges and ensure they comply with the US Constitution.
\n\u201cTo sort of shake it up again is going to bring about disruptions,\u201d Lagarde said on CBS\u2019 \u201cFace the Nation\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
China calls on United States to scrap tariff measures after court ruling Beijing China is making a \u201cfull assessment\u201d of the US Supreme Court\u2019s tariff ruling and has urged Washington to lift \u201cunilateral tariff measures\u201d on its trading partners, warning that fighting between the two countries is \u201charmful\u201d. The comments from China\u2019s Commerce Ministry on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":533170,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-533158","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n