US President Donald Trump has decided to double tariffs on goods imported from China from 10% to 20%.
This measure is being taken due to the fact that the Chinese government has not taken steps to limit the supply of fentanyl to the United States.
“China has not taken adequate steps to mitigate the illegal drug crisis through joint efforts of law enforcement agencies and that the crisis described in Executive Order 14195 has not been resolved“, the document says. In this regard, changes were made to the text of the aforementioned decree: 10% duties were replaced with 20%.
Beijing immediately reacted and declared that it would take countermeasures in response to the new US duties to protect its interests, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced on Tuesday.
"China expresses strong dissatisfaction and resolutely opposes this, Beijing will take countermeasures to resolutely protect its rights and interests," the statement on the department's website said.
The ministry called China one of the countries in the world with the strictest anti-drug policy and its most thorough implementation, recalling that Beijing actively cooperates with Washington in the fight against drug trafficking, achieving tangible results.
„However, the US is shifting responsibility and making another mistake by again raising duties on Chinese products, imported into the US under the pretext of the fentanyl problem“, the Ministry of Commerce added.
The US action “ignores facts, international trade rules and calls from all parties, and is a typical example of unilateralism and bullying“, Beijing added.