China announces new tariffs on U.S. products

China on Wednesday announced a proposed tariff hike on $50 billion of U.S. goods amid escalating U.S.-China trade disputes. The list of 106 products include soybeans—the biggest U.S. export to China—small aircraft, and cars. China’s tax agency said the start date for the 25 percent increase will depend on what President Donald Trump does about U.S. plans to raise duties on a similar amount of Chinese goods. “We are not in a trade war with China,” the president tweeted on Wednesday after China’s announcement, “that war was lost many years ago by the foolish, or incompetent, people who represented the U.S.” The U.S. stock market opened low on Wednesday after the announcement. But U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross pushed back on fears the tariff action will stunt trade and growth. “What we’re talking about on both sides is a fraction of 1 percent of both economies,” he said Wednesday morning.