US begins collecting higher tariffs on Chinese goods arriving by sea

Containers are seen at a port in Huaian, Jiangsu province, China May 5, 2019. Picture taken May 5, 2019 [Image: Reuters]

The United States began collecting higher, 25 per cent tariffs on many Chinese goods arriving in US seaports on Saturday morning in an intensification of the trade war between the world’s two largest economies and drawing retaliation from Beijing.

U.S. President Donald Trump imposed the tariff increase on a Sh20 trillion (USD200 billion) list of Chinese goods on May 10, but had allowed a grace period for sea-borne cargoes that departed China before that date, keeping them at the prior, 10 per cent duty rate.