'Give the bully an inch...': Chinese envoy slams Trump’s tariffs on India
Criticising Trump, Xu Feihong said using tariffs to suppress other nation violates UN Charter, even as Trump hints at similar tariffs against China
Chinese Ambassador to India Xu Feihong took a swipe at US President Donald Trump on Thursday (August 7) after he imposed a 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods in response to India’s continued purchase of Russian oil.
In a post on the X platform, Xu also quoted an excerpt from the talks between the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Celso Amorim, the Chief Advisor to Brazilian President Lula.
Also Read: Have India's Russian crude imports endured amid Trump tariff tantrums?
Violation of norms
"Give the bully an inch, he will take a mile," the Chinese envoy's post read.
He noted that using tariffs to suppress other nations was a violation of the UN charter and weakened the rules of the World Trade Organization.
“Using tariffs as a weapon to suppress other countries violates the UN Charter, undermines WTO rules and is both unpopular and unsustainable,” he said in the post.
Also Read: Why Trump tariff could seriously dent Indian economy in multiple ways
Against Russian oil imports
The recent comment by the Chinese envoy comes amid Trump's threats of additional tariffs on China owing to its continued purchase of Russian oil.
“It may happen, I don’t know, I can’t tell you yet. We did it with India and we are probably doing it with a couple of others, one of them could be China,” Trump said during a news conference in the White House.
Currently, India, China, and Turkey are the top three importers of Russian oil. Trump has warned of “secondary tariffs” if the Russia-Ukraine war does not end by Friday (August 8).
Trump imposed an additional 25 per cent tariff against India for its continued purchase of Russian oil on Wednesday, raising the total duty to 50 per cent.
Also Read: ‘Modi’s friend’ Trump’s 50 pc tariff blows hole in India’s foreign policy
US-China trade war
Earlier this year, the US and China were engaged in a tariff war, with Washington raising import duties for Chinese goods up to 145 per cent.
Beijing, however, capped its tariffs at 125 per cent, saying, “Even if the US further raises tariffs to even higher levels, it would be economically meaningless and would ultimately become a laughing stock in the history of global economics.”
Despite escalating tensions, Trump has said he plans to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping later this year in a bid to reach a new trade agreement.