U.S. abuse of tariffs deprives Global South of their right to development: Chinese FM

(ECNS) -- The U.S. abuse of tariffs deprives countries, especially Global South countries, of their right to development, said Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian at a regular press conference on Monday.

According to reports, the U.S. recently announced tariff hikes on all trading partners, covering over 180 countries and regions in the world, including some vulnerable economies designated as the least developed countries by the UN.

There are comments that the high tariffs will deal an unprecedented heavy blow to poor countries that have simple economic structures and are highly reliant on exports. The spokesman for the UN Secretary-General Stéphane Dujarric warned that the trade war will adversely affect the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals, and the concern right now is with the most vulnerable countries, which are the least equipped to deal with the current situation. WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala noted that the U.S. tariffs could lead to an overall contraction of around 1 percent in global merchandise trade volumes this year and will have substantial implications for global trade and economic growth prospects.

"The U.S. hegemonic move in the name of ‘reciprocity' serves its selfish interests at the expense of other countries' legitimate interests and puts ‘America first' over international rules. This is a typical move of unilateralism, protectionism and economic bullying," Lin said, adding that China has issued the Chinese Government's Position on Opposing U.S. Abuse of Tariffs to express our serious and just attitude.

The spokesperson said that Analysis of WTO data shows that in light of the uneven economic development and strengths, the U.S. tariff hikes will further widen the wealth gap among countries and less developed countries will feel a heavier blow. This gravely hurts the effort of realizing the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The U.S. tariffs with differentiated rates violate the WTO principle of non-discrimination, severely disrupt the international trade order and the security and stability of the global industrial and supply chains, severely undermine the multilateral trading system, severely hinder global economic recovery, and will certainly be rejected by the international community.

The spokesperson stressed that open cooperation represents the trend of history and mutual benefit is what the people want. Development is a universal right of all countries, not an exclusive privilege of a few. Countries need to uphold the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefit, remain committed to true multilateralism, jointly oppose unilateralism and protectionism of all forms, safeguard the international order with the UN at its core, and uphold the multilateral trading system with the WTO at its center.

（Editor: Evelyn）