China threatens retaliation after US unveils tariff proposals

China’s Commerce Ministry said Tuesday that it is preparing to take reciprocal action after the Trump administration unveiled a proposed list of Chinese products that could face tariffs.

China’s state-run Xinhua news agency reported that the Commerce Ministry strongly condemned the new penalties on certain Chinese products exported to the U.S. and was ready to take retaliatory actions.

Exactly what those reciprocal measures could entail is unclear.

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The warning from Beijing came after the U.S. published a list of about 1,300 Chinese products that could be subjected to tariffs. Such tariffs would target about $50 billion worth of goods from China.

The tariffs could come as a punishment for China’s trade practices and alleged intellectual property theft.

Many of the proposed tariffs target China’s aerospace, tech and machinery industries. The penalties are not finalized, however, and a public hearing on the matter is scheduled for May 15.

Beijing’s threat of reciprocal measures is the latest sign of a simmering trade war between the U.S. and China that has emerged in recent weeks.

President Trump has repeatedly decried what he has deemed China’s unfair trade practices, and has vowed to crack down on abuses by the country.

The threats of tariffs, however, have raised alarm among U.S. businesses, who have warned that such penalties could stymie access to the world’s most lucrative and fast-growing market.