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China issued a sharp warning to the United States on Friday, saying that President Donald Trump’s latest wave of tariffs could lead to a “humanitarian crisis,” particularly in the world’s poorest countries, CNN reported. The warning came during a video call between Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), amid escalating trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies. Wang criticized America’s “reciprocal tariffs,” calling them harmful not only to China but to developing and least-developed nations.
“ “The United States’ ‘reciprocal tariffs’ will inflict great harm on developing countries, especially the least developed countries, and even trigger a humanitarian crisis,” Wang reportedly told the director-general of the World Trade Organization, according to a statement released by China’s Commerce Ministry on Saturday. The tariffs are part of Trump’s broader push to reshape America’s economic relations with its trading partners, especially with China. However, concerns are growing that the impact of these measures could be spilling over, affecting global supply chains and pushing up prices worldwide.
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, while speaking at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkey, accused the U.S. of having “paralyzed” the WTO over the years and reportedly said that new trade deals must now be forged on more “fair and peaceful” terms.
“The tariff war which we witness now is going to change many things,” Lavrov said, according to CNN. “We hear that many countries would like to sit down with the United States and negotiate,” Lavrov added. Trump’s tariff strategy has already impacted global markets and supply chains, with key players like China and Russia pushing back at the WTO.
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