China has warned the United States that it is ready for a fight — in an escalation of its rhetoric against President Donald Trump’s tariffs on the Asian country.
Trump proposed the tariffs last month on Canada, Mexico, and China as part of efforts to curb the flow of “illegal drugs and undocumented migrants” into the US.
The tariffs will apply a 25 percent duty on all imports from Mexico and most goods from Canada, and a 10 percent duty on imported Chinese goods — which Trump later doubled to 20 percent.
The affected countries are the US’ biggest trading partners.
Canada and Mexico were able to secure a one-month pause deal, but the grace elapsed on Monday after Trump said the taxes would resume Tuesday.
China has petitioned the World Trade Organisation (WTO), which has warned that a trade war would have devastating economic consequences.
The Asian country also announced the imposition of tariffs of 10 to 15 percent on certain US imports from March 10, and has also laid out a series of new export restrictions for designated US entities.
In a resumed criticism of the tariffs, the Chinese foreign ministry said the US push to curb fentanyl is a “flimsy” excuse to raise taxes.
“The U.S., not anyone else, is responsible for the #FentanylCrisis inside the U.S,” the ministry said in a statement.
“In the spirit of humanity and goodwill towards the American people, we have taken robust steps to assist the U.S. in dealing with the issue.
“Instead of recognizing our efforts, the U.S. has sought to smear and shift blame to China, and is seeking to pressure and blackmail China with tariff hikes.
“Intimidation does not scare us. Bullying does not work on us. Pressuring, coercion or threats are not the right way of dealing with China.”
The ministry warned that anyone using maximum pressure on China is picking the wrong guy and miscalculating.
“If the U.S. truly wants to solve the fentanyl issue, then the right thing to do is to consult with China by treating each other as equals,” the statement added.
“If war is what the U.S. wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we’re ready to fight till the end.”
Justin Trudeau, Canadian prime minister, has also kicked against the tariffs, describing the move as a “very dumb thing to do”.
In retaliation, Trudeau announced 25 percent tariffs on 30 billion Canadian dollars ($21 billion) worth of US imports and said Canada would target another 125 billion Canadian dollars ($87 billion) in goods in 21 days if needed.
A seething Trump warned that the retaliatory Canadian tariffs would be met with commensurate US tariffs.
Mexico has promised to retaliate but has held off on any action until Sunday.
