China assessing US Supreme Court tariff ruling; says “fighting is harmful”

By Xiuhao Chen, James Pomfret and Hyunjoo Jin

BEIJING/HONG KONG/SEOUL, Feb 23 (Reuters) – China is making a “full assessment” of the U.S. Supreme Court’s tariff ruling and has urged Washington to lift “unilateral tariff measures” on its trading partners, warning that fighting between the two countries is “harmful”.

The comments from China’s Commerce Ministry on Monday came days after the highest U.S. court dealt President Donald Trump a stinging defeat by striking down many of the tariffs he has used in a global trade war, including some against rival China.

Within hours of the ruling, Trump said he would impose a new 10% duty on U.S. imports from all countries starting on Tuesday, only then to lift it to 15% in a move that seemed to surprise some of his own officials.

“U.S. unilateral tariffs … violate international trade rules and U.S. domestic law, and are not in the interests of any party,” the Chinese ministry said.

“Cooperation between China and the United States is beneficial to both sides, but fighting is harmful,” it added.

Trade and tariffs are expected to dominate the agenda for both China and the U.S. ahead of a highly anticipated visit by Trump to China in late March and early April – when he will meet his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.

Trump’s planned new levies are grounded in a separate but untested law, known as Section 122, that allows tariffs up to 15% but requires congressional approval to extend them after 150 days. No president has previously invoked Section 122, and its use could lead to further legal challenges.

“China will continue to pay close attention to this and firmly safeguard its interests,” the Commerce Ministry said.

Gao Lingyun, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, was cited by state-run Global Times as saying the U.S. tariff decisions are “highly arbitrary” and were being wielded as a “political weapon.”

“Tariff policy should be based on rigorous assessment, not political preference,” he was quoted as saying.

The U.S. court’s ruling invalidated a number of tariffs that the Trump administration had imposed on Asian export powerhouses from China and South Korea to Japan and Taiwan, the world’s largest chipmaker and a key player in tech supply chains.

UNCERTAINTY LOOMS AMID NEW GLOBAL TARIFFS

South Korea said it would continue to consult with the U.S. to maintain a “balance of interests” between the two countries, while its industry minister said there was concern among officals across industries, including cars, batteries and chips.

“The public and private sector need to work together to secure Korean companies’ export competitiveness and diversify their markets,” Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan said on Monday.

India said it had delayed plans to send a trade delegation to Washington this week to finalise an interim trade deal, chiefly because of fresh tariff uncertainty out of the U.S., according to a source in its trade ministry.

U.S. tariffs on Indian goods were set to be cut to 18%, while India agreed to buy U.S. items worth $500 billion over five years, ranging from energy supplies to aircraft and parts, precious metals and technology products.

In Europe, meanwhile, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde warned of business risks, saying companies want predictability, not legal battles. She said any new tariff plans must be clearly defined to avoid further challenges and ensure they comply with the U.S. Constitution.

“To sort of shake it up again is going to bring about disruptions,” Lagarde said on CBS’ “Face the Nation”.

(Reporting by Xiuhao Chen, James Pomfret and Ryan Woo in Beijing and Hong Kong; Manoj Kumar in India; Hyunjoo Jin in South Korea; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree, Christian Schmollinger and Michael Perry)