CHINA announced today that it will impose a 34 per cent tariff on imports of all products from the United States beginning on April 10.

The new tariff matches the rate of the “reciprocal” tariff of 34 per cent on Chinese exports ordered by US President Donald Trump ordered this week.

The Commerce Ministry in Beijing also said it will impose more export controls on rare earths, which are materials used in high-tech products such as computer chips and electric vehicle batteries.

Included in the list of minerals subject to controls was samarium and its compounds, which are used in aerospace and arms manufacturing. 

Another element called gadolinium is used in MRI scans.

China’s customs administration said that it had suspended imports of chicken from two US suppliers, Mountaire Farms of Delaware and Coastal Processing. It said that Chinese customs had repeatedly detected furazolidone, a drug banned in China, in shipments from those companies.

Additionally, the Chinese government said that it has added 27 firms to lists of companies subject to trade sanctions or export controls.

Among them, 16 are subject to a ban on the export of “dual-use” goods. 

High Point Aerotechnologies, a military tech company, and Universal Logistics Holding, a publicly traded transportation and logistics company, were among those listed.

Beijing also announced it filed a lawsuit with the World Trade Organisation over the tariffs.

“The US imposition of so-called ‘reciprocal tariffs’ seriously violates World Trade Organisation rules, seriously damages the legitimate rights and interests of WTO members, and seriously undermines the rules-based multilateral trading system and international economic and trade order,” the Commerce Ministry said.

“It is a typical unilateral bullying practice that endangers the stability of the global economic and trade order. China firmly opposes this,” it said.

President Trump said China has “played it wrong” by responding to the tariffs he ordered.

Posting on his Truth Social platform, Mr Trump added that he believed China had “panicked” in its response.