China’s Commerce Ministry on Friday imposed a levy of 43.5% on imports of propionic acid from the United States. Propionic acid is commonly used in food, feed, pesticides and medical fields.

The Ministry attributed the imposition of tariffs to an investigation that found the Chinese domestic propionic acid industry was "materially damaged."

China’s Commerce Ministry warned Thursday that It firmly objects to the US raising tariffs and will take all necessary measures to protect its rights and interests.

Market reaction

Despite the simmering US-China trade war, AUD/USD is unperturbed and scales higher amid a better market mood and broad US Dollar weakness. At the time of writing, AUD/USD adds 0.44% on the day to trade at 0.6445.