China threatened ‘countermeasures’ to Trump’s tariffs, claiming: ‘Fentanyl is America’s problem’.

Beijing is threatening to retaliate against the United States as President Donald Trump’s 10% tariffs on China are expected to take effect Tuesday.

The White House announced on Saturday that the Trump administration is implementing a 25% additional tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico and a 10% additional tariff on imports from China, in a move intended to hold the three countries “accountable to their promises of halting illegal immigration and stopping poisonous fentanyl and other drugs from flowing into our country.”
Namely with Beijing, the White House said Chinese officials “have failed to take the actions necessary to stem the flow of precursor chemicals to known criminal cartels and shut down money laundering by transnational criminal organizations.”

A spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday that the 10% tariffs were being levied “under the pretext of the fentanyl issue.”

“China firmly deplores and opposes this move and will take necessary countermeasures to defend its legitimate rights and interests,” the Foreign Ministry said. “China’s position is firm and consistent. Trade and tariff wars have no winners.”

The spokesperson argued that the United States’ unilateral tariff hikes “severely violate” World Trade Organization rules and “cannot solve the U.S.’s problems at home and more importantly, does not benefit either side, still less the world.”

“China is one of the world’s toughest countries on counternarcotics both in terms of policy and its implementation. Fentanyl is an issue for the U.S.,” the Foreign Ministry claimed in its statement released in English.