China Announces Response to Trump's Tariff Hike

China announced a list of US goods including pork, apples, and steel pipe it says may be hit with higher import duties in response to President Trump's tariff hike on steel and aluminum. The Commerce Ministry called on Washington to negotiate a settlement as soon as possible but set no deadline. A ministry statement said the higher US tariffs "seriously undermine" the global trading system. "The Chinese side urges the US side to resolve the concerns of the Chinese side as soon as possible," the ministry said Friday. It appealed for dialogue "to avoid damage to overall Chinese-US cooperation."

Goods targeted for possible higher Chinese tariffs include wine, apples, and ethanol, which would hit agricultural areas where voters supported Trump in the 2016 election, the AP reports. The ministry said China bought about $1 billion worth of those goods last year. They would be hit with a 15% tariff increase, mirroring the US duty hike of 15% on aluminum. A second group of products targeted for a possible 25% tariff, mirroring the higher American charge on steel, includes pork and aluminum scrap, according to the ministry. The Dow sank 724 points amid trade war fears after Trump signed the tariff order Thursday.

(More China stories.)