MOFCOM spokesperson He Yadong at a press conference on December 28, 2023 Photo: Tao Mingyang/GT

China's position against unilateral tariff measures has been consistent. The US should abide by WTO rules and work with China to promote the stable and sustainable development of China-US economic and trade relations in accordance with the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, He Yadong, a spokesperson from China's Ministry of Commerce, told a press conference on Thursday. 

He Yadong made the comments in response to a question about US President-elect Donald Trump's remarks on imposing an additional 10 percent tariff on Chinese imports once he takes office, and whether China is prepared for the worst as the world is generally worried about the outbreak of another trade war between the US and China.

President-elect Donald Trump threatened on Monday to impose sweeping new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China as soon as he takes office as part of his effort to crack down on illegal immigration and drugs. He said he would impose a 25 percent tax on all products entering the country from Canada and Mexico, and an additional 10 percent tariff on goods from China, as one of his first executive orders, the Associated Press reported.

In response to the remarks, a Chinese embassy spokesperson in Washington told the Global Times in an emailed reply on Tuesday that "About the issue of US tariffs on China, China believes that China-US economic and trade cooperation is mutually beneficial in nature. No one will win a trade war or a tariff war."

Zhou Mi, a senior research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, told the Global Times on Thursday that the US should be more responsible in its approach to trade relations with China, because economic and trade cooperation between major countries is never carried out under one path or one model, so both sides have more possibilities to explore together. 

"At present, as world trade is still fragile and global economic recovery is also facing a lot of opportunities and challenges, more stable trade relations between China and the US will bring more benefits for the development of the world," Zhou noted.

Sparking wide concerns

Trump's remarks sparked a flurry of activity among officials from a number of countries including Mexico, Canada, and the EU, who expressed their concerns on the potential imposition of tariffs and warned of the negative impact that the tariffs would bring.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Wednesday Mexico would retaliate if US President-elect Donald Trump followed through with his proposed 25 percent across-the-board tariff, a move her government warned could kill 400,000 US jobs and drive up prices for US consumers, Reuters reported.

"If there are US tariffs, Mexico would also raise tariffs," Sheinbaum said during a press conference.

"It's a shot in the foot," Mexican Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard said of Trump's proposed tariffs, which appear to violate the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement trade deal. Ebrard warned the tariffs would lead to massive US job losses, lower growth and hit US companies producing in Mexico by effectively doubling the taxes they paid. "The impact on companies is huge," Ebrard said, according to Reuters.

According to a report by Canadian local media outlet CTV News Toronto on Wednesday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford says a 25 percent tariff on all Canadian goods proposed by US president-elect Donald Trump is akin to "a family member stabbing you right in the heart."  

Asked whether he would push for retaliatory tariffs against US goods if the 25 percent tariff on Canadian goods goes ahead, Ford said the country would have to.

"Well hopefully we won't come to that, but if it does, there is no choice. We have to retaliate," Ford said. "We have to retaliate, not against the Americans; the administration that has made a wrong call on this."

Moreover, EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell warned that a trade war is in no one's interest, including Washington's, said a report by El Periódico de la Energía in Spanish on Tuesday.  

If Trump opens a new trade war and starts imposing tariffs on everybody, it's not going to help the world economy. It is going to create difficulties for everyone, starting with the Americans themselves, Borrell said. He noted that if tariffs begin to spread, it will stop the dynamics of growth and impact the economy globally.

Borrell said that the European administration will have ways to respond to an eventual trade war, assuring that the EU is "ready" to adopt countermeasures. 

Adolfo Rivera, chief operating officer with Mexico-based logistics and supply chain service provider Palco Group, told the Global Times on Thursday that the tariff is a no-win decision, as it will affect the interests of US citizens, and we hope to have good negotiations between Mexico and the US in order to avoid any impact on Chinese, or Mexican, or even US companies. 

"If they really impose duties on Mexican and Canadian imports, they will only affect US companies and US citizens, because there will be an inflection that it is going to be paid by US citizens," Rivera noted.

The US potential tariff policy, which doesn't distinguish between allies and non-allies, showed that the US government views international trade from the perspective of its priorities, without taking into account the interests of other countries, Zhou said. 

However, past experience has shown that the imposition of tariffs is not an effective solution to the trade problems of the initiating country, and the US should understand that its policy will weaken world trade activities.

For many countries around the world, the US potential tariff policy will cause a great deal of distress, causing them to consider whether or not they will maintain their original trade relations with the US, Zhou said, adding that it may change the pattern of global economic and trade cooperation, and will also have a considerable impact on the world's trade rules.

"No country should naively believe that under such pressure, it can continue to enjoy the developmental prosperity brought about by the stability of the previous economic and trade order. More positive action is needed to maintain the stable global trade order," the expert said.