BEIJING — Chinese customs bureau said on Thursday that it would implement Chinese tariffs on U.S. products immediately after U.S. tariffs take effect.
The announcement came after China’s State Council said on Wednesday that it won’t fire the first shot in the trade fight with the U.S., refuting media reports saying Beijing’s tariffs will take effect Friday at midnight Beijing time, which would be 12 hours ahead of the planned implementation of the U.S.’s tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese products, owing to the time difference.
Read: How will investors know if there’s a full-blown trade war? Here’s what Wall Street says
And: Trade-war tracker: Here are the new levies, imposed and threatened
Also China’s Ministry of Commerce said in a briefing Thursday that $20 billion of the $34 billion goods targeted by U.S. tariffs are made by foreign companies in China. Goods made by American firms take up to a good portion of it, the ministry said.
An expanded version of this report can be found at WSJ.com
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