‘Market has spoken’: After Trump tariffs spark selloff, China calls US for ‘equal-footed consultation’ | World News
After global stock markets took a stumble, China Saturday said “the market has spoken” in rejecting US President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun, in a post on Facebook, called on Washington for a consultation on “equal footing”. He also shared a picture capturing Friday’s falls on US markets.
“Now is the time for the US to stop doing the wrong things and resolve the differences with trading partners through equal-footed consultation,” Jiakun wrote in English.
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In a sweeping retaliation, China on Friday included extra levies of 34% on all US goods and export curbs on some rare earths, escalating the trade war between the world’s two largest economies. This came after Trump introduced additional 34% tariffs on Chinese goods as part of steep levies imposed on most US trade partners, bringing the total duties on China this year to 54%.
“The trade and tariff war started by the US against the world is unprovoked and unjustified,” he added in the post.
Trump also closed a trade loophole that had allowed low-value packages from China to enter the US duty-free.
How global markets reacted
The selloff in stocks deepened following Trump’s “Liberation Day” announcements. Global stock markets plummeted following China’s retaliation and Trump’s comments on Friday that he would not change course.
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This was an extension of sharp losses that followed Trump’s initial tariff announcement earlier in the week and marking the biggest losses since the pandemic.
For the week, the S&P 500 was down 9%.
Chinese commerce groups aim to ‘explore’ new markets
Several Chinese commerce associations in industries from healthcare and textiles to electronics also issued statements on Saturday calling for unity in exploring alternative markets and warning that the tariffs would worsen inflation in the US.
China’s chamber of commerce representing traders in food products called on “China’s food and agricultural products import and export industry to unite and strengthen cooperation to jointly explore domestic and foreign markets.”
The metals and chemicals traders’ chamber said the tariffs “will push up the import cost for US importers and the consumption cost for consumers, exacerbate domestic inflation in the US, and increase the possibility of a US recession.”
(With inputs from AP, Reuters)
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