By Dan Calabrese ——Bio and Archives--July 12, 2018
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The Trump administration’s announcement that it plans to clamp 10% tariffs on a further $200 billion in Chinese goods—from tech gear like routers to furniture and handbags—stoked anger and hand-wringing among Chinese officials on Wednesday. China doesn’t import enough from the U.S. to match Washington dollar for dollar as it has in previous rounds, so Beijing is reviewing plans to hit back in other ways, said Chinese officials familiar with the plans. Measures being rolled out include holding up licenses for U.S. firms, delaying approval of mergers and acquisitions involving U.S. companies and ramping up inspections of American products at borders, the officials said. A Commerce Ministry statement on Wednesday described Beijing as “shocked” by the U.S. action and said China “has no choice but to take necessary countermeasures.” It didn’t elaborate. Behind the scenes, however, officials described the mood as more cautious. Senior Chinese officials are weighing how far to press the retaliation without hurting other national interests, according to the officials. The retaliatory measures are the kind of nontariff barriers that U.S. and European businesses have long complained about, and Beijing is actively courting allies in Europe and elsewhere to fight what officials call U.S. “trade bullying.” China also needs the U.S. for more than just trade. “The U.S. is not China’s enemy as both countries face many common challenges,” said one of the officials, listing climate change, terrorism and other problems. And the tariff battle threatens to sap an already weakening Chinese economy.
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