A spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry on Wednesday said China would protect its “national interests” after US President Donald Trump said that a 10 per cent tariff on Chinese imports could be imposed from February 1 onwards, reported news agency AFP.
“We have always believed that there are no winners in a trade war or a tariff war,” spokesperson Mao Ning said, adding that China was “firmly committed to safeguarding national interests”.
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During a press conference at the White House, Trump said he is considering to impose a 10 per cent tariff on Chinese imports from February 1 to stop the flow of fentanyl supplied from China to Mexico and Canada.
Donald Trump’s claims are also backed by the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) which has identified that the global fentanyl supply chain “often starts with chemical companies based in China”. The DEA stated that the highly addictive opioid, fentanyl, was one of the biggest drug threats in the US.
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“For Mexico and China, we’re talking about approximately 25 per cent (tariffs),” Trump said, though he presumably meant Mexico and Canada.
Trump has threatened tariffs for both Mexico and Canada, not only allowing fentanyl but also illegal immigrants to cross over into America.
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During his conversation with the Chinese President Xi Jinping last week, Trump stated that he didn’t discuss tariffs, though he did talk about the dangers of fentanyl.
Donald Trump also claimed that during his first term he had reached an agreement with Xi over drug dealing but it was not followed up properly by Joe Biden.
“I had a deal with him where he was going to give the maximum penalty, which in China is the death penalty, for drug dealing, and he was all set,” Trump said.
“He was going to give the maximum penalty to fentanyl dealers if they send to the United States, they were going to get the death penalty. And of course, Biden didn’t pick that up. I had that deal all done. It was all wrapped up,” he added.
Trump claimed that if the death penalty had been awarded as per his deal, fentanyl wouldn’t have been supplied to Mexico, Canada and other nations in the first place.
