China to Take 'Necessary Countermeasures' Against Impending US Tariff Increase

China will take “necessary countermeasures” if the U.S. imposes an additional 10 percent duty on $300 billion worth of Chinese imports, the Chinese State Council’s Customs Tariff Commission said Aug. 15, according to Xinhua, China’s state-run news agency. The move “seriously violated the consensus” reached by the two countries and “deviated from the right track of settling differences through consultations,” the official said, according to Xinhua. The statement was in response to President Donald Trump’s announcement that the U.S. would be increasing tariffs on Chinese goods on Sept. 1. Trump later said the tariffs would be postponed until December.