Beijing, November 26, (IANS). China, reacting to newly elected US President Donald Trump’s statement, said that no one will emerge victorious in a trade war or tariff war. Trump said in a statement on Monday that he would impose new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China as soon as he takes office as part of his efforts to crack down on illegal immigration and drugs.
According to the Global Times, on Trump’s statement, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington said, “On the issue of US tariffs on China, we believe that Beijing-Washington economic and trade cooperation is mutually beneficial in nature. “Won’t win a trade war or a tariff war.”
Let us tell you that Trump announced on Monday that he will sign such orders on the very first day of his assuming office in January, under which 25 percent tariff will be imposed on all goods coming from Mexico and Canada. This will remain in place until they stop the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs, especially fentanyl, from their countries into the US.
He also announced that if China did not take decisive action to stop fentanyl drugs from coming to the US, he would impose a 10 percent tariff on goods coming from China in addition to the existing rates.
Trump often said during the election campaign that he would use tariffs to protect American interests. However, economists warned that doing so would increase prices in the US.
Taking aim at China in a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote, “I have had numerous conversations with China about the vast quantities of drugs being shipped to the United States, especially fentanyl, but to no avail. The Chinese representatives told me that they would impose the maximum punishment, i.e. the death penalty, for any drug dealer caught doing so, but unfortunately, they never followed through. Drugs came into our country, mostly through Mexico. , never seen before “Until they stop doing that, we will impose an additional 10 percent tariff on all their products coming into the United States.”
In response to Trump’s accusation against China, the spokesperson said that Chinese and US counter-narcotics officials have resumed regular communications since the San Francisco summit, according to the report. The Chinese side informed the US side about the progress made in US-related law enforcement operations against drugs. China responded to US requests and took action to confirm leads on some cases.
According to the spokesperson, “All of this proves that the idea that China knowingly allowed fentanyl to come into the United States is completely contrary to the facts and reality.”
Earlier, China’s International Trade Representative and Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen said on Friday that history has proved that increasing tariffs on Chinese goods cannot solve the trade deficit of the country imposing the tariffs; Instead, it leads to higher prices of imported products and inflation, the burden of which ultimately falls on consumers.
–IANS
mk/
