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A customer shops at a supermarket in Arlington, Virginia, US on August 14, 2024. Photo: VCG

China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) on Thursday condemned the recent US decision to impose a 25 percent tariff on all steel and aluminum imports as a typical act of unilateralism and protectionism, and urged the US to correct its wrong approach and return to the right track of the multilateral trade system.

Commenting on the US' move at a press briefing on Thursday, He Yongqian, a MOFCOM spokesperson, said that a WTO panel had already ruled in 2022 that the US' previous Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum violated WTO rules. But not only did the US keep the existing Section 232 tariffs, but has actually further lifted tariffs on steel and aluminum, He said.

"This severely harms the interests of all countries, seriously undermines the rules-based multilateral trading system, and impacts the global supply chain," He said.

Also on Thursday, Zhang Longqiang, deputy secretary-general of the China Iron and Steel Association said that the US' 25 percent tariff on all steel and aluminum imports is essentially a protectionist act that will not protect the US' steel industry but may instead shield its backwardness, according to China Media Group.

Since taking office in January, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly wielded the "tariff stick." After raising tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports earlier this week, Trump is expected to announce a new round of so-called reciprocal tariffs on its trading partners on Thursday US time, CNN reported.

Chen Fengying, a research fellow at the Beijing-based China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times on Thursday that Trump's tariffs will have an adverse impact on both the US and the world.

"More tariffs will boost inflation risks in the US and thereby squeeze room for the US Federal Reserve to cut interest rates. With enormous debt, there will be more interest expenses for the US government. As a result, it may drag down US economic growth," Chen said. 

There have already been alarming signs. Latest US data showed that consumer prices increased by the most in nearly 1-1/2 years in January, with US consumers facing higher costs for a range of goods and services, Reuters reported on Wednesday US time. 

"A disappointing inflation reading and soaring egg prices have undermined Trump's promise to reduce costs on 'day one'," US media outlet Newsweek reported on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, mainstream economists largely agreed that Trump's tariff plan will reignite inflation and slow US economic growth, CNN reported. "There is nothing in the tariff agenda that will make prices lower for consumers," Stephanie Roth, chief economist at Wolf Research, was quoted by CNN as saying.

Given the current state of the US economy, higher tariffs may have a negative effect on US economic and social stability, Li Yong, a senior research fellow at the China Association of International Trade, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Moreover, the US' protectionist actions would likely draw reciprocal responses from other countries, which will raise costs for global trade and intensify global trade frictions, Li said.

Trump's tariff approach has already sparked harsh criticism and pledges of countermeasures from major US trading partners. Following the US' tariffs on steel and aluminum, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday that "tariffs are taxes - bad for business, worse for consumers. Unjustified tariffs on the EU will not go unanswered - they will trigger firm and proportionate countermeasures."

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminum imports "entirely unjustified" and said the country would respond "if it comes to that," US media outlet The Hill reported.

China has repeatedly criticized the US' unilateral and protectionist tariffs and has taken countermeasures against the US' 10-percent tariff on all Chinese imports, including imposing additional tariffs on certain US goods and filing a complaint with the WTO. 

Asked whether China will take further countermeasures at the press briefing on Thursday, the MOFCOM spokesperson said that the US' unilateral tariff hike on February 1 violated WTO rules and China will handle the case in accordance with WTO rules and procedures moving forward.