Escalation in U.S.-Chinese trade conflict hits German firms

BERLIN, Sept 18 (Reuters) – The escalation of the trade conflict between the United States and China is very concerning and will affect German firms, Germany’s BDI industry association said on Tuesday after the U.S. imposed further tariffs on Chinese imports. China said on Tuesday it had no choice but to retaliate against new U.S. trade tariffs after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was imposing 10 percent tariffs on about $200 billion worth of imports from China, and threatened duties on about $267 billion more if China retaliated against the U.S. action. “The new tariffs affect German companies too as part of global production and supply chains,” the BDI said in a statement.