China has announced it is to impose additional tariffs on US goods.
The tariffs will come into force from tomorrow, China’s finance ministry said.
It means tariffs of 84% will be enforced on US goods – up from the 34% China had previously planned.
It signals an escalation of the global trade war and comes after the US hit Beijing with an extra 50% tariff this week.
Those followed two previous levies of 34% and 20%, meaning US tariffs on China reached 104% from this morning.
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As part of a new complaint to the World Trade Organisation, China said the United States’ decision to impose tariffs threatened to further destabilise global trade.
“The situation has dangerously escalated,” China said in a statement.
As one of the affected members, China expresses grave concern and firm opposition to this reckless move.”
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Sky’s Asia correspondent Helen-Ann Smith said: “China is really the only nation in the world at the moment that is choosing to take a stand.
“While others are publicly making concessions and sending delegations to negotiate, China has clearly calculated that not being seen to be bullied is worth the cost that retaliation will bring.”
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The US has responded by calling China back to the negotiation table.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described the move as “unfortunate” and a “loser” for them.
“I think it’s unfortunate that the Chinese actually don’t want to come and negotiate, because they are the worst offenders in the international trading system,” Mr Bessent said in an interview with Fox Business Network.
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The European Union is also preparing to announce its own retaliatory measures later on Wednesday.
