Chinese business community supports countermeasures against U.S. protectionism

Beijing. April 9. Silkroadnews - The Chinese business community supports government countermeasures against U.S. protectionism, according to a statement by the China Chamber of International Commerce (CCIC), Xinhua reports.
This statement was made after the U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he asked the U.S. Trade Representative to consider the possibility of imposing additional tariffs on Chinese goods for another $100 billion.
Calling the U.S. steps "irrational and erroneous," the CCIC urged the United States not to go further along the wrong path.
“We reaffirm that the U.S. 301 Section investigation violates rules of the World Trade Organization and impairs not only interests of both countries, but also the world economy at large,” the statement said. “The investigation and its report lack evidence and adopted double standards,” the CCIC said in a statement.
China will fight “at any cost” and take “comprehensive countermeasures” if the United States continues its unilateral protectionist practice, a representative of the Ministry of Commerce said earlier.
Last week, the U.S. Trade Representative proposed to impose an additional 25% tariff on $50 billion imports from China, which caused strong opposition from business groups.
A few hours after the publication of the proposed list of Chinese goods subject to imposing new tariffs, China responded with an offer to impose tariffs on a number of the U.S.-made goods, including soybeans, cars, airplanes and chemical products.
According to the Ministry of Finance, the date of introduction of tariffs on American goods will depend on when the U.S. government will fix its duties on Chinese products.