China Hits Back On Trade Dispute, Slapping Tariffs On 128 U.S. Products
Imported nuts from the United States are displayed for sale at a supermarket in Beijing, Monday, April 2, 2018. China raised import duties on U.S. pork, fruit and other products Monday.
Andy Wong/AP
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Andy Wong/AP
China announced late Sunday that it would retaliate for the Trump administration’s tariffs on steel and aluminum by imposing its own import charges on a list of 128 U.S. goods, including agricultural products ranging from fruit to frozen pork.
The new tariffs, which China’s Ministry of Finance says begin on Monday, add fuel to what many economists fear is a burgeoning trade war between the two economic superpowers.
Beijing said it was suspending its obligations to the World Trade Organization to reduce tariffs on U.S. goods and would instead impose a 15 percent tariff on 120 U.S. goods, including fruit.
On pork and seven other products, the duty would be 25 percent, the Ministry of Commerce said, according to Xinhua news agency.
Beijing had warned last month that it was considering the tariffs on a range of products. It seems to have followed that script. Other items include wine and nuts, as well as aluminum scrap.
The ministry said the U.S. had “seriously violated” the free-trade principles in the WTO rules.
“China’s suspension of some of its obligations to the United States is its legitimate right as a member of the World Trade Organization,” the Chinese finance ministry said in a statement, according to Reuters.
The differences between the two countries should be resolved through dialogue and negotiation, the statement added.
The salvo from China follows the U.S. imposition of tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum that were initially applied to several trading partners. However, the European Union, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and South Korea have all since been temporarily exempted, while the White House has threatened further tariffs on China.
Last month, President Trump set in motion a further $60 billion in tariffs on Chinese imports to punish Beijing over the “theft” of intellectual property.
The South China Morning Post writes:
“… Beijing has so far held fire against major agricultural products such as soybeans or major industries such as aerospace giant Boeing – items that state-run daily Global Times suggests should be targeted.
The nationalistic newspaper said in an editorial last week that China has ‘nearly completed its list of retaliatory tariffs on US products and will release it soon.’
‘The list will involve major Chinese imports from the US,’ the newspaper wrote, without saying which items were on the document.”
A Sampling Of Alt.Latino Gems
Alt.Latino has discovered some new musical gems and gives us a sampling.
KORVA COLEMAN, HOST:
Our friend Felix Contreras of NPR Music’s Alt.Latino visits us from time to time. And he usually tells us what he’s going to play. But every once in a while, he puts us hosts in the hot seat. And so he’s given me a bucket-load of songs where I get to choose my faves without telling me beforehand what they are. And Felix Contreras joins us now. Thank you for the music, Felix.
FELIX CONTRERAS, BYLINE: Good morning. You’re welcome. And this is so much fun.
COLEMAN: I’m happy to talk to you, Felix. How are you?
CONTRERAS: (Laughter) I’m doing well. This is going to be cool.
COLEMAN: I have to say this was really intriguing this week to hear all of this music that you had prepared and not really have any idea of what I was going to receive. So before we get into this, where did you find this music?
CONTRERAS: This is going to be on our next podcast/radio show – the 2018 spring new music extravaganza that we’ll have on the air this week. And I get it from all kinds of places – publicists, musicians, friends, the inter-webs. All kinds of stuff comes in from everywhere. And we select the music and put it on the air and share it.
COLEMAN: OK. Here’s my first pick. We must play absolutely everything with congas in it.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “TANGA BUENA”)
TANGA: (Singing in Spanish).
CONTRERAS: OK. This is Latin music from Vancouver, OK?
COLEMAN: What?
CONTRERAS: This is a band – yeah. This is a band called Tanga. They’re Vancouver-based. They have three albums out. And it’s a mashup of, like, different types of stuff – funky grooves, dancehall, a little bit of cumbia. This is their third album. It’s called “Reencarnacion” – reincarnation. And this is a song called “Tanga Buena.” And it really does reflect just who they are or what they’re about – a little mashup of hip-hop and all-of-the-above really funky cool music. And I knew you would like this one.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “TANGA BUENA”)
TANGA: (Singing in Spanish).
COLEMAN: All right. This next music pulled me in with its cheerfulness. And then I listen more closely. And it just about broke my heart – gorgeous music about life circumstances that may never change for somebody.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “MURO”)
THE MEXICAN STANDOFF: (Singing) I was good at school. I never missed a day, played a lot of sports, got a lot of A’s, wanted to be a doctor someday. They say I can’t ’cause I’m illegal. Muro, muro – I was born south of the muro.
COLEMAN: Oh, Felix, this broke my heart. I love this.
CONTRERAS: OK. This is a song called “Muro” – the wall. And it’s by a group called Mexican Standoff. So the liveliness, the very energetic spirit you hear is Mexican son jarocho. And this group is called Mexican Standoff. And it’s a collective of son jarocho musicians in Southern California. And they get together to make songs that have a very direct political statement. And this is the most recent one, along with the video – very topical, very direct. And yeah, there are some circumstances in the song that reflect the reality of what’s going on right now.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “MURO”)
THE MEXICN STANDOFF: (Singing) Muro, muro – I grew up north of the muro.
COLEMAN: Felix, this next song is one that I adored. In fact, it could be the one song out of all of them that you gave to me that I found the most attractive.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “I’M LATE”)
KERA AND THE LESBIANS: (Singing) Darling, don’t go. It’s (unintelligible) so close and yet so far somehow. One thing I know – you and me and the world break free.
COLEMAN: Whoa. Who is this woman?
KERA AND THE LESBIANS: This is a band called Kera & The Lesbians, OK? And the curious thing is that the Lesbians are all guys, OK?
COLEMAN: OK (laughter).
CONTRERAS: It’s a tongue-in-cheek thing. But Kera is definitely a queer performer. And her music is so expressive. You immediately latch onto it and find things for yourself in it. And you obviously found something in it. I really like this track a lot.
COLEMAN: I do, too. OK, Felix. I have one more pick. Let’s listen to it.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “CUANDO VOY A MI TRABAJO PIENSO EN TI”)
ELEANOR DUBINSKY: (Singing in Spanish).
CONTRERAS: This is an artist named Eleanor Dubinsky. And this is a song called “Cuando Voy A Mi Trabajo” – when I go to work, when I go to my job. Eleanor Dubinsky is a New York City-based musician who has sort of absorbed all these different cultures and all these different languages. And she said she wrote this song as an homage to the number of immigrants working in New York City, people who go to work and can’t share the day-to-day lives with their families because their families are left behind.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “CUANDO VOY A MI TRABAJO PIENSO EN TI”)
DUBINSKY: (Singing in French).
COLEMAN: Felix Contreras is the host of NPR Music’s Alt.Latino, a podcast and radio show about Latino arts and culture. And he’ll feature these songs and more on his next show coming this week. Felix, thank you so much.
CONTRERAS: Thank you, Korva.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, “CUANDO VOY A MI TRABAJO PIENSO EN TI”)
DUBINSKY: (Singing) I’m working so hard for every dollar, sending money home to my love. Immigration – there’s no consolation. I’m working so hard for every dollar, sending money home to my love…
Copyright © 2018 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
What To Watch For In The NCAA Women's Basketball Championship
NPR’s Korva Coleman previews the NCAA women’s basketball championship game between Mississippi State and Notre Dame with ESPN’s Maria Taylor.
KORVA COLEMAN, HOST:
It’s Mississippi State versus Notre Dame in tonight’s NCAA Women’s College Basketball Championship. This comes after a dramatic upset Friday night when the undefeated UConn Huskies lost to Notre Dame in overtime. Mississippi State also needed overtime to beat Louisville to advance to the championship game. Maria Taylor is a college sports analyst and reporter for ESPN. She’s in Columbus, Ohio, for tonight’s game. Maria, welcome to the program.
MARIA TAYLOR: Thanks for having me. I’m glad to be here.
COLEMAN: What’s the mood like in Columbus ahead of tonight’s game?
TAYLOR: First of all, it’s been amazing. We’ve had great attendance. Our first game was a sell-out. And I think the mood is obviously interested to find out who this next national champion’s going to be. Mississippi State has never won a national championship. And obviously, Notre Dame – they are a staple in the Final Four. But it would be just their second national title.
COLEMAN: What can we expect tonight between Mississippi State and Notre Dame? What can we see?
TAYLOR: I think the biggest thing is – for Mississippi State – you’re going to see four seniors that when they showed up at Mississippi State, it wasn’t a common thing that they went to Final Fours. And now they’ve had back-to-back visits. And they’re high-scoring. They were averaging 80 plus points per game in the NCAA Tournament. And then they’ve got Teaira McCowan. That’s 6’7″. And she shoots at like, 60 percent in the paint and is just vicious. She set the rebounds record in an NCAA Tournament.
And then for Notre Dame, you’re going to see a team that has battled through so much adversity. They’ve had four players go down with ACL tears, but they’ve only had three losses on the season. And they’re powered by Arike Ogunbowale, who had 27 points in the Final Four, and big plays from Jackie Young, who’s only a sophomore. But she came in and had 32 points. So both of these teams are scrapping it out. Like, both have unfinished business. Mississippi State was here a season ago. And they said the goal was to get back. Now they’ve done it. And Notre Dame – no one believed they would be here. And they’re just here to prove everyone wrong again.
COLEMAN: There have been a lot of highlights in women’s collegiate basketball this year. Can you recap a few of them for us?
TAYLOR: Obviously, Connecticut – before this loss, they were 36-0. They had not lost since losing the game against Mississippi State a season ago in the national semifinals. And this is the first time that Connecticut has not made it to the national championship in back-to-back years since 2011 – the 2012 season. Another highlight is Notre Dame. They say the turnaround of their season was when they defeated Tennessee at home. They were down by as many as 23 points and basically completed one of the biggest swings we’ve ever seen in point differential to get the victory by double digits.
COLEMAN: How has women’s collegiate basketball grown or expanded its reach, Maria?
TAYLOR: Oh, I would say, like, even this season on ESPN, we decided to add a primetime Thursday night game that would be featured on ESPN, where in past seasons we only had Monday on ESPN2 where a women’s matchup would be featured. People are recognizing the name brands of these schools. If you come and see that Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, you’re going to see it full of Mississippi State fans, more pouring in from Starkville, Miss., and all over the place because they want to support these teams. And Mississippi State – they have set the record for college basketball attendance in men’s or women’s in the state.
COLEMAN: That’s Maria Taylor, college sports analyst and reporter for ESPN. She’s in Columbus, Ohio, covering tonight’s NCAA Women’s College Basketball Championship. Maria, thank you.
TAYLOR: Thank you so much for having me.
Copyright © 2018 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
