US tariffs on USD 34 billion of Chinese goods have come into effect, signalling the start of a trade war between the world’s two largest economies.
The 25% levy came into effect at midnight Washington time.
China has retaliated by imposing a similar 25% tariff on 545 items US imports worth a total of 34 billion USD.
Beijing accused the US of starting the “largest trade war in economic history”.
“The Chinese side, having vowed not to fire the first shot, is forced to stage counter-attacks to protect the … interests of its people,” the Chinese Commerce Ministry said.
Earlier this year Donald Trump ordered the US to impose tariffs on USD 50 billion dollars worth of Chinese goods and the first round of these tariffs kicked in on Friday.
The imposition of the tariffs had little impact on Asian stock markets. Shanghai fell in morning trade before recovering to be 0.6% higher, while Hong Kong and Tokyo both rose 1.3%.