Refusing to pull any punches,... China says it WILL retaliate after the United States filed paperwork to sharply raise tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of Chinese goods effective Friday.
On the tense trade standoff between the world's two economic superpowers... here's Lee Seung-jae.
Following through on the threat made by President Trump last weekend,... the U.S. Trade Representative's office has filed paperwork to formally raise tariffs to 25-percent from the previous 10-percent on 200 billion dollars' worth of Chinese imports,... effective this Friday.
The paperwork on the tariff hike was made on the Federal Register,... the official publication used to formalize government regulations,... including any change in U.S. tariff rates.
China has reacted angrily to Washington's latest move,... saying Beijing will retaliate if the U.S. indeed presses on with the tariff hike.
China's Commerce Ministry says the escalation of trade friction is not in the interest of the two countries,... and it deeply regrets the Trump administration's latest action.
The ministry added that, if the tariffs are implemented, China will have to take necessary countermeasures.
Meanwhile, in a tweet on Wednesday,... President Trump confirmed a Chinese delegation is on its way to Washington to reach a trade deal,... adding he's "very happy" to raise tariffs to 25-percent.
In the first six months of the government's fiscal year,... the U.S. collected over 34 billion dollars in tariffs from China.
That figure could get closer to 100 billion dollars if the tariff hike goes through as planned.
Despite the uptick in trade tensions, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Wednesday that the U.S. has received an indication that China wants to make a deal,... adding they will sit down with the Chinese delegation on Thursday,... and "see what happens from there."
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.