11 votes

China vows firm and forcefull retaliation for $200 Billion US tariff threat

5 comments

  1. [4]
    nil-admirari
    Link
    Lets see now, China owns ~1.2 Trillion USD of US debt. Wonder if that is being considered as a countermeasure?

    China’s imports of U.S. goods are so small that Beijing “cannot match fresh U.S. tariffs,” said Vishnu Varathan of Mizuho Bank in a report.

    Lets see now, China owns ~1.2 Trillion USD of US debt. Wonder if that is being considered as a countermeasure?

    5 votes
    1. [3]
      JamesTeaKirk
      Link Parent
      As far as I understand, China can't just suddenly call in the U.S.'s debts because the debt is stored in fixed term treasury securities. What kind of retaliation could they employ in regards to...

      As far as I understand, China can't just suddenly call in the U.S.'s debts because the debt is stored in fixed term treasury securities. What kind of retaliation could they employ in regards to the debt?

      3 votes
      1. [2]
        nil-admirari
        Link Parent
        This gets over my head fairly quickly; but, by simply not buying anymore of our debt for a set period of time might cause some consternation, they could also elect to sell that debt (mostly bonds)...

        This gets over my head fairly quickly; but, by simply not buying anymore of our debt for a set period of time might cause some consternation, they could also elect to sell that debt (mostly bonds) to other nations.

        3 votes
        1. JamesTeaKirk
          Link Parent
          Interesting, I never thought about selling it off. I wonder if someone could figure out the numbers on when the pain of tariffs would outweigh the gain/benefits from the debt they hold.

          Interesting, I never thought about selling it off. I wonder if someone could figure out the numbers on when the pain of tariffs would outweigh the gain/benefits from the debt they hold.

          2 votes
  2. JamesTeaKirk
    Link

    The Chinese government vowed Wednesday to take “firm and forceful measures” against U.S. threats to expand tariff hikes to thousands of products

    The spiraling conflict over Chinese technology policy threatens to chill global economic growth. It stems from Washington’s complaint that Beijing steals or pressures companies to hand over technology and worries that plans for state-led development of Chinese champions in robots and other fields might erode American industrial leadership.

    A possible second round of tariff hikes announced Tuesday by the U.S. Trade Representative targets a $200 billion list of Chinese goods. That came four days after Washington added 25 percent duties on $34 billion worth of Chinese goods and Beijing responded by increasing taxes on the same amount of American imports.

    The abrupt escalation is “totally unacceptable,” said a Commerce Ministry statement. It said Beijing would take unspecified “necessary countermeasures” to protect its “core interests.”

    That “will hit the Chinese export sector hard,” said Rajiv Biswas of IHS Markit in a report.

    China’s imports of U.S. goods are so small that Beijing “cannot match fresh U.S. tariffs,” said Vishnu Varathan of Mizuho Bank in a report.

    4 votes