US has started biggest trade war in history: China
Beijing, July 6 : China on Friday accused the US of starting "the biggest trade war in economic history" as American tariffs took effect on Chinese goods worth $34 billion.
"China is forced to strike back to safeguard core national interests and the interests of its people," the country's Commerce Ministry said in a statement after the tariffs kicked in.
President Donald Trump's administration's 25 per cent tariffs are targeting Chinese products such as industrial machinery, medical devices and auto parts.
The Commerce Ministry statement did not however, provide details on its retaliation.
Beijing said previously it would fire back against an equal value of US exports, including SUVs, meat and seafood.
Even before Friday, the trade dispute between the world's top two economies had rattled markets and prompted warnings from companies of damage to their bottom lines and higher prices for consumers.
The US is also set to impose 25 per cent tariffs on another $16 billion in Chinese exports later in the year and China has vowed to retaliate against US goods worth a similar amount.
But Trump has said his administration will respond to retaliation from Beijing with much bigger waves of tariffs, raising the prospect of worsening tit-for-tat reprisals, CNN reported.
On Thursday, he suggested the possibility of tariffs on almost $500 billion more of Chinese goods.
"Thirty-four, and then you have another 16 in two weeks and then, as you know, we have 200 billion in abeyance and then after the 200 billion we have 300 billion in abeyance. OK?" Trump told reporters aboard the Air Force One.
"So we have 50 plus 200 plus almost 300."
Trump and his advisers argue the tariffs are necessary to pressure China into abandoning unfair practices such as stealing intellectual property and forcing American companies to hand over valuable technology.
Beijing denies it's in the wrong and says it's ready to fight a trade war until the end.
The clash with China comes as the Trump administration is also fighting over trade with American allies such as Canada and the European Union.
American tariffs on steel and aluminium imports have provoked retaliatory measures against billions of dollars of American exports.
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PUC-2 pass percentage stands at 81.58 per cent in Karnataka
Bengaluru (PTI): Students across Karnataka scored high marks in the PUC-2 Examination-1 for 2026, to which the results were announced on Thursday. The overall pass percentage stood at 81.58 per cent.
The Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board (KSEAB) released the combination-wise list of toppers for various streams.
The Pre-University College-2 (PUC-2) Exam-1 was conducted from February 28 to March 17 at 1,217 Examination Centers across the state.
A total of 6,94,545 students appeared for the examination this year, of whom 5,66,608 cleared it.
Girls outperformed boys, with a pass percentage of 88.70 per cent compared to 83.65 per cent among boys.
Among college categories, residential PU colleges topped with 93.99 per cent results, followed by unaided colleges at 90.73 per cent, aided colleges at 78.72 per cent, and government colleges trailing at 57.11 per cent.
In terms of categories, General and 3A segments recorded the highest pass percentages at 92.69 per cent and 92.22 per cent respectively, while SC and ST categories also saw marked improvement over the previous year.
Medium-wise results indicated that English medium students performed better with 90.63 per cent pass rate, compared to 76.41 per cent in Kannada medium.
A total of 1,70,529 students secured distinction (85 per cent and above), while 2,95,385 students passed in first class.
The Board said students can access their results on the official portal and through mobile applications.
The PUC-2 Examination-2 is scheduled to be held from April 30 to May 13, 2026, with online registration open till April 17.
The Board has also enabled online applications for scanned copies of answer scripts from April 10 to April 15, and revaluation applications between April 12 and April 17, with fees fixed at Rs 530 per subject for scanned copies and Rs 1,670 for revaluation.
