BEIJING: China urged the United States on Monday (Feb 23) to cancel unilateral tariffs announced by President Donald Trump after the US Supreme Court struck down many of his measures.
The court ruled six to three on Friday that Trump does not have the authority to impose tariffs under a 1977 law he has relied on to impose sudden levies on individual countries, upending global trade.
Trump reacted furiously, announcing first a new 10 per cent global duty on imports under a different legal authority, before raising it to 15 per cent on Saturday.
China’s commerce ministry said on Monday it was conducting a “comprehensive assessment” of the ruling’s impact, and called on Washington to lift the tariffs.
“China urges the United States to cancel its unilateral tariff measures on its trading partners,” the ministry said in a statement. “There are no winners in a trade war and that protectionism leads nowhere.”
The new 15 per cent global duties are due to kick in on Tuesday, and are expected to last 150 days with exemptions for some products.
The Chinese foreign ministry also noted that it was paying “close attention” to potential moves by the United States to maintain increased tariffs.
“The United States is currently planning alternative measures such as trade investigations in order to maintain increased tariffs on trading partners. China will continue to pay close attention to this and resolutely safeguard China’s interests,” it said.