BEIJING / WASHINGTON — China on Thursday issued a sharp rebuke after the United States announced sweeping new tariffs on copper imports, calling the move a misguided act of economic nationalism, reporte by Anadolu Agency.
“We believe that trade wars and tariff wars have no winners,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning during a televised press briefing. “Protectionism benefits no one. We firmly oppose politicizing economic and trade issues.”
The criticism came in response to former U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement that the United States will impose a 50% tariff on copper imports beginning August 1, citing national security concerns.
“Copper is essential to our military and industrial base,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “We use it in semiconductors, aircraft, missiles, data centers, and hypersonic weapons — all of which we’re building in large numbers.”
Trump accused previous administrations of weakening the domestic copper industry and declared the new tariff a necessary corrective.
Meanwhile, the Philippines also raised concerns, following news of 20% tariffs on several of its exports to the U.S. Frederick Go, a senior investment official, confirmed that a high-level delegation will travel to Washington next week for urgent trade talks.
“We seek fairer trade terms,” Go said, emphasizing that bilateral trade between the two nations tops $24 billion annually, with Manila exporting over $14 billion in goods and services.
The tariff escalation comes as global supply chains remain fragile and U.S.-China trade tensions resurface, fueling fears of renewed economic decoupling and broader geopolitical friction.
