China decided to retaliate against the imposed tariff which is on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports to the US market.
However, China itself will bear the negative effect of this reaction.
The imposition of the tariff on the lead concentration import posed a difficulty on both the lead miners in the US and the beleaguered lead smelters in China.
Sources in the lead and battery markets of China indicated that half of the low silver lead concentration consumption is imported from the US market.
The Chinese government has started to scrutinize the origin of every single import transaction of lead concentration in order to be sure the import is from export countries other than the US. The government hopes the lead smelters can cooperate and take the initiative to avoid purchasing the lead materials from the US lead miners.
Since the tariff has been implemented, the cost of lead concentration for Chinese buyers keeps on being pushed up since the lead miners in other countries are taking advantage of this trade war between China and the US.
An analyst who declined to speak on the record said that the cost of lead concentration is going up to $20-30 per tonne, rising from $15-25 per tonne.
There are also subsidiary repercussions in the lead related industrial segments. For example, the lead-acid battery industry, the battery makers, calcium material producers and lead and plastic recyclers are all encountering difficulties in dealing with the toughest situation ever in the lead market.