China denounces Trump tariff: 'Fentanyl is America's problem'

China challenges Trump's tariff at WTO, plans "countermeasures" while urging U.S. for dialogue to avoid escalating conflict.

China's government on Sunday (February 2, 2025) denounced the Trump administration's imposition of a long-threatened 10% tariff on Chinese imports while leaving the door open for talks with the U.S. that could avoid a deepening conflict.

Beijing will challenge President Donald Trump's tariff at the World Trade Organization and take unspecified “countermeasures” in response to the levy, which takes effect on Tuesday, the Finance and Commerce ministries said.

Also read | Canada, Mexico announce retaliatory tariffs against U.S.

The response stopped short of the immediate escalation that had marked China's trade showdown with Trump in his first term as President and repeated the more measured language Beijing has used in recent weeks.

Trump on Saturday ordered 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports and 10% on goods from China, saying Beijing needed to stanch the flow of fentanyl, a deadly opioid, into the United States.

China's Commerce Ministry said in a statement that Trump's move "seriously violates" international trade rules, urging the U.S. to "engage in frank dialogue and strengthen cooperation".

Filing a lawsuit with the WTO would be a largely symbolic move that Beijing has also taken against tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles by the European Union.