Trade war: US criticises 'unfair' China tariffs

Trump's administration had said its duties were aimed at steel and aluminium imports that it deemed a threat to US security. Pic/AFP

The United States has blasted as "unfair" Chinese tariffs imposed on 128 US imports worth $3 billion, including fruit and pork, in the latest tit-for-tat over US duties on steel and aluminium.

China's action, which was decided by the customs tariff commission of the State Council, followed weeks of rhetoric that has raised fears of a trade war between the world's two biggest economies. President Donald Trump's administration had said its duties were aimed at steel and aluminium imports that it deemed a threat to US security, but China's Commerce Ministry called that reasoning an "abuse" of World Trade Organisation (WTO) guidelines.

The US measures "are directed only at a few countries, seriously violating the principle of non-discrimination as a cornerstone of the multilateral trading system, which seriously infringed the interests of the Chinese side," said a statement on the Commerce Ministry website.