China?s Commerce Minister, Wang Wentao, has told the Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, that the United States tariffs will inflict serious harm on the developing countries.

This is just as Okonjo-Iweala has said, she remains optimistic about opportunities in the current global trade crisis.

United States President Donald Trump had embarked on the imposition of what economic analysts called punishing global tariffs on foreign goods, insisting that tariffs would bring manufacturing back to the United States.

However, analysts insist it would likely take years to ramp up US domestic production.

In a phone call on Friday, Wentao told Okonjo-Iweala that the ?United States has continuously introduced tariff measures, bringing enormous uncertainty and instability to the world, causing chaos both internationally and domestically within the United States.?

According to a statement issued yesterday by China?s Ministry of Commerce, Wentao also told the head of the WTO that US tariffs will ?inflict serious harm? on poor nations.

?These US ?reciprocal tariffs? will inflict serious harm on developing countries, especially the least developed countries, and could even trigger a humanitarian crisis,? Wentao told the head of WTO, the statement said.

Beijing said Friday that its 125 per cent tariffs on United States? goods would take effect yesterday ? almost matching the staggering 145 per cent levies imposed by Washington on Chinese goods entering the United States.

However, China indicated that it would ignore any further levies by Trump because it no longer makes economic sense for importers to buy from America.

The Hindu reported that China also said it would file a lawsuit with the WTO over the latest round of levies.

After a week of market mayhem as the world?s two largest economies took turns to put up trade barriers, Beijing dismissed Trump?s mounting brinkmanship as a ?joke? and a ?numbers game?.

Beijing?s retaliation with 125 per cent tariffs on United States? goods sparked fresh market volatility, with stocks seesawing, gold prices surging and US government bonds under pressure.

Washington and Beijing?s escalating tariff battle has raised fears of an enduring trade war between the world?s two largest economies and sent global markets into a tailspin.

The fallout has sent particular shockwaves through the US economy, with investors dumping government bonds and the dollar tumbling.

Nevertheless, Trump insisted on his Truth Social platform that ?we are doing really well on our tariff policy,? even after Beijing announced its latest hike.

And even with Washington and Beijing going toe-to-toe, the White House insists Trump remains ?optimistic? about a deal with China.

Trump?s Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping gave his first major comments on the tensions Friday, with state media quoting him as saying his country was ?not afraid.?

Economists have warned that the disruption in trade between the tightly integrated US and Chinese economies will increase prices for consumers and could spark a global recession.

I See Opportunities in this Crisis, Says Okonjo-Iweala

Meanwhile, in her brief remarks at the 3rd Edition of the African Heritage Concert & Awards 2025 held yesterday in the city of Marrakesh, Morocco, Okonjo-Iweala said she remains optimistic about opportunities in the current global trade crisis.

The WTO head, who spoke virtually, was one of the African icons who were honoured for distinguishing themselves in contributing to shaping Africa?s future positively.

Speaking on the global tariffs war, Okonjo-Iweala said she was optimistic that the world economy would emerge stronger at the end of the crisis.

US Exempts Tech Imports from Tariffs

In a related development, Trump?s administration has announced a series of major exemptions to its global tariffs ? an apparent step back in an escalating trade war with China.

A notice Issued late Friday by the US Customs and Border Protection office said smartphones, computers and other electronics would be excluded from the import levies President Trump rolled out a week ago.

The move came as retaliatory Chinese import tariffs of 125 per cent on US goods took effect yesterday, with Beijing standing defiant against its primary trade competitor.

The exemptions will benefit US tech giants like Apple that make iPhones and other premium products in China, and will generally narrow the impact of the staggering 145 percent tariffs Trump has imposed this year on Chinese goods entering the US.

A senior equity analyst at Wedbush Securities, Daniel Ives, called the US exemptions ?the best news possible for tech investors.?

Without these exemptions, he said, ?the US Tech industry would be taken back a decade and the AI Revolution thesis would have been slowed significantly.?

Many of the exempted products, including hard drives and computer processors, are generally not made in America.

In a related development, Taiwan?s government yesterday said it held first tariff discussions with the United States and expected more talks to build ?strong and stable? trade ties.

Taiwan?s President Lai Ching-te said the island was on ?the first negotiating list of the US government? as he looks to shield its exporters from a 32-per-cent tariff. (THISDAY)

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