China has opened an anti-dumping investigation against US, EU, Taiwan, and Japanese imports of a common plastic. China is retaliating in its trade battles with the US and Europe with the declaration from the Ministry of Commerce that it will look into imports of polyoxymethylene copolymer, which is used in autos and electronics.

It occurs at a time when China’s trade disputes with the US and the EU have gotten worse recently. Washington abruptly raised duties on Chinese imports, such as computer chips, solar panels, and electric vehicles (EVs), less than a week ago.

The recent US actions further extended the broad border levies that the Trump administration levied on products coming from China.

China’s commerce ministry responded by stating that the latest actions will “severely affect the atmosphere for bilateral cooperation” and denouncing what it called the politicisation of commercial matters.

China’s foreign ministry stated in a statement that it will “take all necessary measures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests” prior to the highly publicised White House decision.

Separately on Monday, according to official media, China imposed sanctions on three American defence companies for selling weapons to Taiwan.

As the self-governing island welcomed a new president, news leaked out that General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, General Dynamics Land Systems, and Boeing Defence, Space & Security would not be allowed to conduct “import and export” business in China.

According to the trade ministry, senior executives of all three businesses are prohibited from travelling to, residing in, or working in China.

Europe, however, has started a number of investigations into Chinese imports.

The European Union announced on Friday that it will look into Chinese tinplate steel.

Furthermore, Brussels said last month that it was looking into two Chinese manufacturers of solar panels that it claims get government subsidies.

The EU’s trade policy supervisor, the European Commission (EC), has also set a deadline of July 4th for itself to determine whether to take action against the import of electric vehicles (EVs) manufactured in China.

(Adapted from AOL.com)