China Raises Tariffs on U.S. Imports to 125%

China responded to President Trump’s tariffs on Friday, raising its own tariffs on American goods to 125 percent, as the world’s two biggest economies extended a fast-moving tit-for-tat that has seen the cost of trade soar and fueled concerns over a global recession.

The announcement came after Trump administration officials clarified that China was now facing a minimum tariff rate of 145 percent on all exports to the United States. China said its new tariffs, which raise the tax on American imports from 84 percent, would take effect on Saturday.

President Xi Jinping told Spain’s prime minister on Friday that China and the European Union must join together in defending globalization and opposing “unilateral acts of bullying.” It’s a clear swipe at Trump’s tariff policies.

Xi, in his first public comments on the issue since Trump launched his tariff offensive last week, said there could be “no winners” in any trade war, and he said the EU had a key role to play in ensuring global economic stability.

Spain’s Pedro Sanchez said China and the United States needed to hold talks to defuse the situation, and he also called for a more balanced relationship between Beijing and the 27-nation EU, which has its own trade issues with China.

“China and the EU should fulfill their international responsibilities, jointly safeguard the trend of economic globalization and the international trade environment, and jointly oppose unilateral acts of bullying,” Xi said.

In his talks with Sanchez, Xi talked up the ability of China and the EU, respectively the world’s second and third biggest economies, to counter Trump’s tariffs.

U.S. farmers at risk: The loss of China as an export market will deal a particularly hard economic blow to agricultural workers in many red states, hitting many of the voters who helped Mr. Trump win the presidential election.

Inflation report: The Consumer Price Index climbed 2.4 percent last month from a year earlier, lower than expected. That data covered a period before the majority of Mr. Trump’s tariffs — including the most recent ones on China — went into effect.

Republican nerves: Some Republican lawmakers, caught between their deep opposition to tariffs and fear of criticizing Mr. Trump, have cheered his 90-day reprieve on higher tariffs for most countries.

Chinese FM: The wheel of history cannot go backwards

15:57 +06

The U.S. cannot act recklessly, and the wheel of history cannot go backwards, said China’s foreign minister Wang Yi, speaking about U.S. tariffs.