China urges US to cancel unilateral tariffs after Supreme Court ruling

BEIJING – China urged the United States on Feb 23 to cancel unilateral tariffs announced by US President Donald Trump after the

US Supreme Court struck down many of his measures

.

The court ruled six to three on Feb 20 that Mr Trump does not have the authority to impose tariffs under a 1977 law he has relied on to impose sudden levies on individual countries, upending global trade.

Mr Trump reacted furiously, announcing first a new 10 per cent global duty on imports under a different legal authority, before

raising it to 15 per cent on

Feb 21

.

China’s Commerce Ministry said on Feb 23 that it was conducting a “comprehensive assessment” of the ruling’s impact, and called on Washington to lift the tariffs.

“China urges the United States to cancel its unilateral tariff measures on its trading partners,” the ministry said in a statement. “There are no winners in a trade war and that protectionism leads nowhere.”

The new 15 per cent global duties are due to kick in on Feb 24, and are expected to last 150 days, with exemptions for some products.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry also noted that it was paying “close attention” to potential moves by the US to maintain increased tariffs.

“The United States is currently planning alternative measures such as trade investigations in order to maintain increased tariffs on trading partners. China will continue to pay close attention to this and resolutely safeguard China’s interests,” it said.

China’s warning comes weeks ahead of Mr Trump’s planned visit to China – the US leader’s first trip to the country in his second term.

But US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer has said that a meeting planned for April between Mr Trump and Mr Xi is “not to fight about trade”.

The Supreme Court ruling was a stunning rebuke to Mr Trump from a judicial body that has largely sided with him since his return to office.

It marked a major political setback in striking down his signature economic policy that has roiled the global trade order.

Several countries have said they are studying the Supreme Court ruling and Mr Trump’s subsequent tariff announcements.

Mr Greer told US media on Feb 22 that the country’s trade deals with China, the European Union and other partners will remain in force despite the decision.

US trade officials threatened in December to impose tariffs on the key semiconductor industry after finding that Beijing’s practices were “unreasonable”, though the tariffs will be delayed until June 2027.

Beijing said at the time that it “firmly” opposed the move and accused Washington of abusing tariffs to “unreasonably suppress Chinese industries”. AFP