BEIJING, February 12. /TASS/. The American authorities are destroying the global trade system, which, thanks to multilateral cooperation, has long provided the US with a number of tariff preferences, Zhou Mi, a senior research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, believes.
“The move is just an excuse for the US to reduce its own tariff concession obligations. Under the framework of multilateralism, the US has benefited from tariff concessions for a long time,” the expert said as quoted by the Global Times newspaper.
He commented on Washington’s introduction of increased duties on steel and aluminum imports.
As Zhou Mi pointed to the fact that the countries affected by these measures “made prompt responses because the US’ latest move will have a negative impact on their trade and industries.”
He noted that the US government “is inclined to leverage tariffs on countries that may have the so-called damage to the country’s economy and industry.”
“The move, breaking the fundamental principles of global trade, will escalate global trade uncertainty and have a destructive impact on the world’s trade order,” the economist warned.
According to his colleague Gao Lingyun, an expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, the publication refers to, the volume of steel and aluminum exports from China to the United States is relatively small.
“If the US rigidly insists on absolute reciprocity, it essentially breaks a fundamental principle of international trade, ” he said.
While the United States claims to be protecting its steel and aluminum industries, it is actually
“shielding outdated and uncompetitive sectors,” Gao Lingyun noted.
In his opinion, these measures will not change the situation, since the US domestic market does not have the prerequisites necessary for the development of the relevant sector.
On February 10, President Donald Trump ordered the introduction of 25% duties on steel and aluminum imports to the US. The EU confirmed its readiness to take countermeasures.
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