China Imposes Up to 15% Retaliatory Tariffs on the US... Begins Antitrust Investigation Against Google [Global Tariff War]

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With the US's additional 10% tariffs on China taking effect from midnight on the 4th (local time), China has decided to impose up to 15% tariffs on US imports starting from the 10th.

The Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council of China announced on the 4th, "In accordance with the basic principles of the Customs Law and other related laws, and with the approval of the State Council, tariffs will be imposed on certain US imports starting from the 10th." The commission explained that a 15% tariff will be imposed on US coal and LNG, and a 10% tariff on crude oil, agricultural machinery, large automobiles, and pickup trucks.

The Chinese government also announced the initiation of an antitrust investigation against Google, a representative big tech company in the US. It also decided on export suspension measures for key minerals like tungsten and sanctions against the parent company of Calvin Klein. As China officially embarks on tariff and non-tariff retaliatory measures against the US, the market, which had been relieved by the previous day's tariff suspension measures for Mexico and Canada, is tense again.

The previous day, US President Donald Trump decided to suspend the 25% tariffs that were to be imposed on imports from Mexico and Canada starting that day for a month, but did not take such measures for China. President Trump wrote on Truth Social after a call with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum in the morning, "President Sheinbaum has just agreed to immediately deploy 10,000 troops to the Mexico-US border," and "We have agreed to immediately suspend the expected tariffs for one month." Instead, the US also promised to work to prevent the smuggling of high-performance weapons to Mexico.

President Trump also announced after two calls with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that tariffs on Canadian imports would be suspended for a month. He stated, "Canada will implement a $1.3 billion border plan, appoint a fentanyl czar, and has promised to launch a Canada-US joint strike force to combat fentanyl and money laundering."

Washington Correspondent: Lee Sang-eun selee@hankyung.com