China’s chamber of commerce representing traders in food products called on “China’s food and agricultural products import and export industry to unite and strengthen cooperation to jointly explore domestic and foreign markets”.
The metals and chemicals traders’ chamber said the tariffs “will push up the import cost for US importers and the consumption cost for consumers, exacerbate domestic inflation in the US, and increase the possibility of a US recession”.
Trump’s broadest tariffs to date took effect on Saturday, with a 10 per cent “baseline” tariff hitting most US imports except goods from Mexico and Canada.
Dozens of economies, including China, face even higher rates from Apr 9.
The US also said on Wednesday that it will end the tax exemption for packages worth less than US$800 from the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, starting May 2. Those products will be subjected to a duty rate of 30 per cent of their value, or US$25 per item.
The China Express Association, on behalf of China’s postal and express delivery enterprises, expressed firm opposition to the US move to cancel duty-free treatment for low-value packages from China, according to its statement issued on Thursday.
The association said that cross-border e-commerce packages from China have helped American consumers meet their personalised consumption needs, reduce their living costs and improve their quality of life, adding that the move will harm the interests of consumers in the United States, especially families and young people, who rely on cross-border e-commerce shopping.
“We hope the United States will correct its wrong practice and take necessary measures to create a fair and predictable policy environment for the development of cross-border e-commerce and delivery,” the association said.
