China has retaliated against Washington’s latest tariffs with a 34% duty on all goods imported from the US, plus other response measures, Kallanish reports.

Beijing announced Friday that the new tariff will enter force on 10 April. It matches the 34% “reciprocal” tariff rate that Chinese goods will face in the US on 9 April, on top of the 20% existing duty.

The escalation comes as the Chinese government warned the US “bullying move” would hurt the US and global economic growth, disrupting several supply chains. A day earlier, it urged Washington to immediately cancel the unilateral measure.

In addition to retaliatory tariffs, China has also filed a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization and implemented further controls on the exports of seven rare earth-related items. The latter controls cover medium and heavy rare earths, including dysprosium, scandium and terbium.

According to China’s commerce ministry, the export controls are effective from 4 April and seek to “safeguard national security” and “fulfil international obligations such as non-proliferation.”

The items have dual-use attributes and China says it is an internationally accepted practice to impose export controls on them. They can be used in EV motors, but also in defence military technologies. “As a responsible major country, China has listed the relevant items, which reflects its consistent position on firmly maintaining world peace and regional stability,” the ministry says. “China is willing to strengthen foreign exchanges and cooperation and promote compliant trade through the bilateral export control dialogue and exchange mechanism.”

Separately, the commerce ministry also put 16 US companies on its export control list, banning exporters to sell dual-used items to them.   

“China has always been a staunch defender of the international economic and trade order and a staunch supporter of the multilateral trading system,” a ministry spokesperson says. “We urge the US to immediately correct its wrong practices and cancel its unilateral tariff measures.”

Global stock markets sank on Thursday as the world got to grips with Trump’s new tariffs. The S&P 500 fell nearly 5%, with a $2.4 trillion wipeout described as the worst day since the 2020 coronavirus crisis. The US stock market took another blow on Friday following China’s announcements and increased fears of a global recession.