China press accusing US of trying to 'bully' their way through trade - Reuters

As reported by Reuters, a fresh round of tariffs came in for a landing on Monday, sparking a response from China through their state-run media agency, Xinhua.

Key quotes

"Soon after the new duties went into effect, China accused the United States of engaging in “trade bullyism” and said it was intimidating other countries to submit to its will, the official Xinhua news agency said, reiterating China’s willingness to fight if necessary.

But Beijing also said it was willing to restart trade negotiations with the United States if the talks are “based on mutual respect and equality,” Xinhua said, citing a white paper on the dispute published by China’s State Council.

“One of the bigger risks with these tariffs going into effect is that the United States may be pushed out of the Chinese market, and it is a growing market,” said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Moody’s said on Monday additional U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports are negative for various sectors in both countries and could spread beyond targeted sectors, adding that tariffs are credit negative for U.S. furniture & home goods retailers, with more than half their imports coming from china last year.

The United States will levy tariffs of 10 percent initially, rising to 25 percent at the end of 2018. Beijing has imposed rates of 5 percent to 10 percent and warned it would respond to any rise in U.S. tariffs on Chinese products accordingly.

The U.S. administration “has brazenly preached unilateralism, protectionism and economic hegemony, making false accusations against many countries and regions, particularly China, intimidating other countries through economic measures such as imposing tariffs,” Xinhua quoted the State Council’s white paper as saying."