China is planning to ban Hollywood movies after vowing to “fight to the end” against the sweeping tariffs imposed by Donald Trump. This comes after the US president singled out the nation for additional 50 per cent levies in his recent threats.
Beijing will impose more tariffs on US agricultural products entering China and ban US movies in the country, a Chinese journalist linked to the Communist Party told BBC’s Radio 4 programme.
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Last year, US films grossed $585 million in China, which is around 3.5 per cent of China’s $17.71 billion box office, reported Daily Mail.
A ban on upcoming Hollywood releases, including Jurassic World: Rebirth, The Accountant 2 and the Mission Impossible sequel, could result in a loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in the Chinese market.
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Trump’s additional tariff threats
On Monday (Apr 7), Trump threatened to impose an additional 50 per cent tariff on China if Beijing does not back down from its recently introduced retaliatory tariffs of 34 per cent by Tuesday (Apr 8).
If the US president moves forward with his plans to impose the additional tariffs, unless China withdraws its retaliatory levies on the US, the total new duties on Chinese goods this year could rise to 104 per cent.
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China has called Trump’s recent tariff threats “blackmail”, planning to ban certain US imports in response.
In a statement, the Chinese commerce ministry said that the US threats were “a mistake on top of a mistake, once again exposing the American side’s blackmailing nature,” urging the US to resolve the differences through dialogue with mutual respect.
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“If the US insists on having its way, China will fight to the end,” the ministry said.
“Tariff wars have no winners, and protectionism has no way out. Chinese people don’t make trouble, but are not afraid of it. Pressure, threats and blackmail are not the right way to deal with China,” foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said.
(With inputs from agencies)