US unleashes trade war with latest tariffs on China

United States' trade war with China officially began on Friday as the Trump administration slapped tariffs of USD 34 billion on Chinese imports, escalating a fight that could hurt companies and consumers in both the countries.

The new tariffs on Chinese goods, which went into effect at 12:01 a.m., will undoubtedly prompt quick retaliation by China, which is expected to impose retaliatory tariffs on American exports, such as soybeans, seafood, SUVs and crude oil.

"The escalation of the trade war from threat to reality is expected to ripple through global supply chains, raise costs for businesses and consumers and roil global stock markets, which have been volatile in anticipation of a prolonged trade fight between the United States and almost everyone else," reported the New York Times.

United States President Donald Trump on Thursday said that the first wave of tariffs on USD 34 billion in goods would swiftly be followed by penalty on another USD 16 billion of Chinese products.

The United States president went on to threaten Beijing with escalating tariffs on as much as $450 billion worth of Chinese goods.

The Trump administration has been recently slapping tariffs on other countries, claiming that the US was "being treated unfair on trade," raising grave concerns of a global trade war.

The US had announced to impose 25 and 10 percent tariffs on steel and aluminium respectively on three of its biggest trading partners - Canada, Mexico and the European Union on May 31.

In retaliation, the EU and Canada slapped tariffs in a tit-for-tat move.

Last month, the EU imposed tariffs on American goods worth USD 3 billion such as yachts, bourbon and motorcycles.