China hits back at US with 34% tariffs, lawsuit in escalating trade war

After Washington initiated additional tariffs against both allies and rivals, China on Friday imposed a 34% additional tariff on all imports from the US, a move seen as a tit-for-tat against President Donald Trump's 34% reciprocal tariffs on products from the world's second-largest economy.

The tariffs, set to go into effect next Thursday, will affect all US products imported to China, according to a Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council statement.

The statement called the US' reciprocal tariffs one-sided "bullying," adding that they violate international trade rules and harm China's rights and interests.

China was subjected to 34% reciprocal tariffs on Wednesday when Trump signed an executive order imposing reciprocal tariffs on many countries.

Besides imposing additional tariffs, Beijing has banned the export of dual-use items to 16 US entities and added 11 US firms to the "unreliable entity list," according to China's Commerce Ministry.

The ministry said China filed a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization's dispute settlement mechanism against the US over "reciprocal tariffs" on all trading partners.

It also launched an anti-dumping probe into imports of medical CT (X-ray) tubes from the US and India, the ministry said, urging Washington to “immediately” remove the tariffs and resolve any disputes through “fair and equal dialogue” with its trade partners.

Beijing also announced export control measures on certain rare earth-related items.