China Announces Measures in Retaliation for Trump Tariffs

Date: 04 February 2025 - 21:59

News ID: ۱۳۶۵۷۵

BEIJING (Reuters) -- China
announced a wide range of measures on Tuesday targeting U.S. businesses including Google, farm equipment makers and the owner of fashion brand Calvin Klein, minutes after new U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods took effect.
Beijing also slapped tariffs on U.S. products such as coal, oil and some autos in a rapid response to the new duties on Chinese goods imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, escalating trade tensions between the world’s two biggest economies.
China’s State Administration for Market Regulation said Google was suspected of violating the country’s anti-monopoly law and an investigation was initiated in accordance with the law.
Google products such as its search engine are blocked in China and its revenue from there is about 1% of global sales. It still works with Chinese partners such as advertisers.
In 2017, Google announced the launch of a small artificial intelligence centre in China. But the project was disbanded two years later and the firm does not conduct AI research in China, according to a blog posting.
Separately, China’s Commerce Ministry said it had put PVH Corp, the holding company for brands including Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, and U.S. biotechnology firm Illumina on its “unreliable entity” list.
It said the two companies took what it called “discriminatory measures against Chinese enterprises” and “damaged” the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies.
Companies added to the blacklist can be subject to fines and a broad range of other sanctions, including a freeze on trade and revocation of work permits for foreign staff.
Shares of both PVH and Illumina were down nearly 4% each in premarket U.S. trading, while Google-parent Alphabet rose 1%.
PVH had already been under scrutiny from Chinese regulators over “improper” conduct related to the Xinjiang region.
China also announced 10% tariffs on imports of U.S. farm equipment that could impact firms such as Caterpillar, Deere & Co and AGCO, as well as a small number of trucks and big-engine sedans shipped to China from the United States.
That could apply to Elon Musk’s Cybertruck, a niche offering Tesla has been promoting in China, as it awaits regulatory clearance to begin sales.
China’s Ministry of Industry and Information technology designated the Cybertruck as a “passenger car” in a posting in December that was quickly deleted.
If the Cybertruck was designated as an electric truck, Tesla would face a 10% tariff on any future imports from its factory in Texas.