China retaliates in latest wave of Trump's trade war

It's only been hours since the U.S. launched its latest attack in President Trump's tariff war, and China is already firing back.

On Tuesday, the U.S. unveiled another 25 percent tariff on $16 billion of Chinese goods. China precisely returned the charges Wednesday morning, tossing a 25 percent tariff on $16 billion of American products, per Bloomberg.

Tuesday's American tariffs target 279 imports, mostly within the electronics, plastics, and chemical sectors, Reuters says. As expected, China promised equal retaliation, and rolled out coal, oil, and chemical tariffs Wednesday. Both tariff loads will take effect Aug. 23.

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Trump's trade war seemed to slow after he announced a $34 billion tariff load on China on July 10. China vowed to retaliate that time around, but seemed to choose bureaucratic slowdowns instead of tariffs to do so.

The trade dispute began in March as Trump attempted to convince China and other world leaders to renegotiate their trade deals. China's trade deficit with America has come close to a record high as the conflict persists, per Bloomberg.