China said Tuesday it would slap tariffs on imports of US energy, vehicles and equipment, firing a return salvo in an escalating trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.
US President Donald Trump on Saturday announced sweeping measures against major trade partners including Canada and Mexico, with goods from China facing an additional 10 percent tariff on top of the duties they already endure.
Just minutes after those tariffs came into effect, Beijing said it would impose levies of 15 percent on imports of coal and liquefied natural gas from the United States.
On Tuesday it unveiled 10 percent tariffs on imports of crude oil, agricultural machinery, big-engined vehicles, and pickup trucks.
The new measures were in response to the “unilateral tariff hike” by Washington over the weekend, Beijing said.
That US move, China said, “seriously violates World Trade Organization rules, does nothing to resolve its own problems, and …