Countermeasures vowed on U.S. tariff threat

China firmly opposes the United States' latest threat to impose an additional 10 percent tariff on Chinese imports next week, vowing to take necessary countermeasures to protect its legitimate rights and interests, the Ministry of Commerce said on Friday.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that his proposed 25 percent tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods will take effect on March 4, while also raising the additional tariff on imports from China from 10 percent to 20 percent, citing the so-called fentanyl issue as a pretext.

In response to this move, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce said that unilateral tariffs violate World Trade Organization rules and undermine the multilateral trading system.

The ministry spokesperson said that China is one of the countries that has the strictest drug control policies and highest levels of enforcement globally, and China has actively launched international drug control cooperation, including with the U.S..

However, the U.S. has repeatedly ignored objective facts, previously imposed an additional 10 percent tariff on China using a similar pretext and is now threatening to impose more tariffs, said the spokesperson.

Washington has levied an additional 10 percent tariff on all Chinese imports. In response, China raised tariffs in February on U.S. coal and liquefied natural gas, agricultural machinery such as farm equipment, large-displacement cars and pickup trucks.

The Ministry of Commerce said that shifting blame onto other countries will not address U.S.' domestic issues. Instead, it will place a greater burden on U.S. businesses and consumers while disrupting the stability of the global industrial supply chains.

"We urge the U.S. to avoid repeating the same mistake and return to the right path of resolving differences through equal dialogue. If the U.S. persists in implementing the tariffs, China will take all necessary countermeasures to protect its interests," the spokesperson added.

Sun Xuegong, director of the department of policy study and consultation at the Chinese Academy of Macroeconomic Research, which is part of the National Development and Reform Commission, said this U.S. tariff policy is a lose-lose scenario.

"China suffers from that, and the U.S. suffers from that, and the whole world also suffers from that. There are some calculations that both the U.S. and China lose some growth then from that tariff," said Sun, adding that economic policy should be based on facts, not emotions.

Tiffany Smith, vice-president for global trade policy at the National Foreign Trade Council in Washington, told China Daily, "Adding new and expanded tariffs will harm working families."

Sharing similar views, Mary Lovely, professor emeritus of economics at Syracuse University and senior fellow of the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, said that tariffs will "take a larger share of income" from low-earning households in the U.S..

Lovely said that politicians often tout tariffs as positive as they "cling to the belief that it creates jobs in the U.S.".

Xu Hongcai, deputy director of the economic policy commission under the Beijing-based China Association of Policy Science, said China needs to engage in dialogue with the U.S. to resolve trade issues, and diversify and expand into international markets, focusing on cooperation with partners also hit by tariffs like the European Union, Japan, South Korea, Canada and Mexico.

"It is also practical for China to further strengthen business ties with economies participating in the Belt and Road Initiative," said Xu.

Ningbo Dooya Mechanic and Electronic Technology Co Ltd, a Ningbo, Zhejiang province-based motor manufacturer, has been heading in that direction and its sales revenue exceeded 2 billion yuan ($275 million) for the first time in 2024.

In its early stages, the Chinese company primarily served customers in the European and U.S. markets. However, through continuous market expansion, it has successfully established a strong presence in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa, according to information released by Ningbo Customs.