Hong Kong (CNN) — China announced retaliatory tariffs of 84% on imports of US goods on Wednesday, further inflaming a trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.
China increased its intended levy on US imports by another 50 percentage points from the initial amount that is set to take effect on Thursday, matching the additional charge that US President Donald Trump has already imposed on Chinese goods.
Trump’s sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs took effect earlier on Wednesday. China was the hardest-hit nation with a levy of at least 104% on all its goods.
“The US escalation of tariffs on China is a mistake upon mistake, severely infringing upon China’s legitimate rights and interests, and seriously damaging the multilateral trading system based on rules,” China’s State Council Tariff Commission said in a statement announcing the fresh levy.
In addition to the tit-for-tat tariffs, China’s Commerce Ministry also retaliated against Trump’s tariffs by imposing export controls on 12 American companies and added six more US firms to its “unreliable entity list.” Companies on that list are banned from trading or investing in China.
Meanwhile, China also filed a complaint to the World Trade Organization over the latest US tariffs, according to the Commerce Ministry.