The deep integration of the global economy is the reason that everyone would be harmed by unilateralism and trade protectionism and there would be no benefits for anyone, China said earlier this week just as two senior U.S. officials are set to visit Beijing to hold talks on trade. The jibe was obviously on the U.S. which – under its new President Donald Trump, is showing increasing shift towards trade protectionism.

The comments on trade protectionism was made by Chinese Foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying in connection to a report released by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

The report has identified tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to be the reason behind significant increases in the prices of steel aluminum by businesses. The report is also known as the beige book.

Concern about the tariffs’ impact have bene expressed by companies in many sectors that include manufacturing and transportation the report also said.

There will be loss of over 2.1 million jobs in 2,700 U.S. counties if there is a trade war between China and the U.S., Hua said quoting another report from the Brookings Institution.

The tariff plan was discouraged by 107 Republican members of Congress in March througha letter to Trump.

In the letter, the lawmakers wrote: “we urge you to reconsider the idea of broad tariffs to avoid unintended negative consequences to the U.S. economy and its workers.”

The primary word that the U.S. would be the word “reciprocal”, Trump said during a working lunch with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday.

“China, as an example, when they send a car to us, it’s 2.5 percent tax. When we send a car to them, number one, they don’t take it, and number two, it’s 25 percent tax,” Trump said.

Hua quoted some facts while reacting to Trump’s remarks.

He said that the U.S. charges 25 percent tariff on imported trucks while just 2.5 percent tariff on imported cars. Additionally, while a 25 per cent tariff has been set by China for whole vehicles, it has only imposed a 10 per cent tariff on auto parts. He also stated that subsidiaries of the U.S. automobile companies operating in China are the producers of most of the American cars that are sold back to China.

“It should be said that American auto companies have enjoyed a huge dividend in China,” said Hua.

She said that it was not possible to formulate standards according to one’s own interests and needs because reciprocity and fairness cannot speak for themselves.

“Instead, we must rely on equal consultations to formulate unified international rules and standards and we must all respect them,” said Hua.

(Adapted from Xinhaunet.com)

Categories: Economy & Finance, Geopolitics, Regulations & Legal