China has cancelled planned trade talks with the U.S. after the White House slapped a fresh set of tariffs on Chinese goods, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
Ahead of scheduled trade talks with Beijing, Trump imposed new tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods and products, with China retaliating by imposing tariffs on $60 million in U.S. goods.
The U.S. tariffs will start at 10 percent and rise to 25 per cent in 2019.
In an effort to diffuse tensions, the countries had been scheduled to meet to discuss trade relations. But in the wake of the new round of tariffs, China shelved its plans to send trade envoys to Washington D.C.
The mid-level delegation was due to travel to Washington ahead of a visit by Chinese vice-premier Liu He to Washington next week, which has also been cancelled.
The new tariffs brought "new uncertainties" to China-US negotiations, Gao Feng, a spokesman of China's Ministry of Commerce said at a press conference Thursday.
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin was leading efforts to break through the impasse and restart trade talks.
The U.S. and China have already imposed tariffs on $50 billion of each other's products, with China's tariffs mainly imposed on U.S. agricultural products.
The dispute has its origin in U.S. claims that China is conducting unfair trade practices in a bid to overcome U.S. technological and economic superiority. In an interview Thursday, President Donald Trump reiterated criticism of Chinese trade policy.
"It's time to take a stand on China," he said in an interview with Fox News. "We have no choice. It's been a long time. They're hurting us."
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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