US opening fire on the world — and itself, China says on eve of trade war
There is little prospect of a last-minute diplomatic flurry to avert the trade war, with no evidence of talks between the two sides, even via back channels, sources say
Beijing — The United States is "opening fire" on the world with its threatened tariffs, the Chinese government warned on Thursday. It said Beijing would respond the instant US measures go into effect, as the two lock horns in a bitter trade war. The Trump administration’s tariffs on $34bn of Chinese imports are due to go into effect at 12.01am eastern time on Friday (4.01am GMT on Friday), which is just after midday on Friday Beijing time. US President Donald Trump has threatened to escalate the trade conflict with tariffs on as much as a total of $450bn in Chinese goods if Beijing retaliates, with the row roiling financial markets including stocks, currencies and global trade of commodities from soy beans to coal. China has said it will not "fire the first shot", but its customs agency said on Thursday in a short statement that Chinese tariffs on US goods will take effect immediately after Washington’s tariffs on Chinese goods kick in. Speaking at a weekly news conference, Chinese ...
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