China slams US forced labor tariffs, warns of trade war
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- China condemned new US tariffs imposed on it and 59 other countries over alleged forced labor concerns on Friday (Jul 24), with foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian declaring "we oppose all forms of unilateral tariff measures" and warning that "tariff wars and trade wars are not in the interests of any party."
- The US levied tariffs ranging from 10 to 12.5 percent, hitting China with the highest rate, while economies with existing forced labor prohibitions — Canada, the European Union, and the United Kingdom — received the lower 10 percent.
- India and Japan were among the major trade partners hit with the higher 12.5 percent rate for lacking forced labor prohibitions.
- US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Washington was "rigorously" enforcing a forced labor import ban and that it was "well past time for our trading partners to do the same."
- The Trump administration moved to rebuild the president's tariff wall after the Supreme Court struck down a host of his duties in February, with the new duties replacing an expiring global levy rolled out earlier this year.
- China and the US had reached a trade truce when Trump and President Xi Jinping met last October, and after Trump's visit to Beijing this year China pledged to work with Washington on reducing tariffs — making the latest levies a direct threat to that de-escalation.
Why it matters: China is receiving the harshest 12.5% rate despite the October Trump-Xi truce and Beijing's post-visit pledge to cooperate on reducing tariffs, putting that de-escalation at risk as the administration rebuilds its tariff regime after a February Supreme Court rebuke.
