What started the US-China trade war?
The Sino-US "trade war" can be traced back to August 14, 2017, when Trump signed an executive memorandum authorizing the Trade Representative to conduct a 301 investigation into China. The so-called "301 investigation" refers to Section 301 of the U.S. Trade Act of 1974, which authorizes the U.S. government to make unilateral rulings and take unilateral measures that do not exist in the WTO dispute settlement mechanism when a trade dispute occurs with other countries. The "301 investigation" is often carried out against a country.
Four months before launching this "301 investigation", the United States also launched a "232 investigation" on imported steel and aluminum products (the U.S. Department of Commerce, based on the authorization of Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, initiated an investigation into whether the import of specific products threatens U.S. national security).
The development of the Sino-US trade war:
On March 8, US President Trump announced that the United States will impose heavy tariffs of 25% and 10% on steel and aluminum imports for a long period of time. But then the allies will be exempted, and in the end it may be "only China" that will be subject to high tariffs.
On March 21, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying stated at a regular press conference that China does not want to engage in a trade war with anyone, but if someone forces us to fight, we will not be afraid and we will not hide. Two days later, Beijing responded that China planned to impose additional tariffs on 128 tax products imported from the United States. According to statistics in 2017, this involved approximately US$3 billion in U.S. exports to China.
In the early morning of April 4, Trump signed a memorandum, announcing that a 25% tariff would be imposed on more than 1,300 imported goods originating from China, covering industries such as aerospace, information and communications technology, and involving approximately US$50 billion in Chinese exports to the United States. On the same day, with the approval of the State Council, the State Council Tariff Commission decided to impose a 25% tariff on 106 items in 14 categories, including soybeans, automobiles, and chemical products originating in the United States, involving China's imports from the United States in 2017 of approximately US$50 billion.
On April 16, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced that it would ban U.S. companies from selling parts, goods, software and technology to ZTE for seven years. Subsequently, another Chinese communications giant, Huawei, was also investigated.
On May 16, a Chinese delegation headed by Vice Premier Liu He visited the United States. On May 20, Xinhua News Agency reported that China and the United States held constructive consultations on bilateral economic and trade in Washington and issued a joint statement. In an interview with the media, Liu He said that the biggest achievement of this China-US economic and trade consultation was that the two sides reached a consensus not to engage in a trade war and to stop imposing tariffs on each other.
On June 15, the White House issued a statement on Sino-US trade, imposing a 25% tariff on 1,102 products with a total value of US$50 billion. The White House statement mentioned Made in China 2025. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated on the same day: "If the US side introduces trade sanctions including additional tariffs, all economic and trade achievements reached by the two sides in the negotiations will not take effect."
The above is the content of this issue on the Sino-US trade war. Please pay attention and we will continue to answer your questions~
