China has decided to impose tariffs of 25 percent, 20 percent and 10 percent on certain U.S. products starting June 1, announced the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council in a statement issued Monday.

The tariffs will be targeting U.S. goods worth 60 billion U.S. dollars, the statement said, adding that the products under five-percent tariff cap would not be affected by this round of tariffs.

Stocks tumble

Wall Street stocks dived in opening trade following the announcement. The S&P 500 headed for the biggest decline in four months and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped more than 500 points.

The S&P 500 Index decreased 2.2 percent as of 10:31 a.m. New York time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 2.1 percent, while the Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 2.9 percent. Caterpillar Inc. fell over four percent and Apple Inc. lost five percent. Soybeans plunged two percent and cotton prices sank four percent. Gold increased 0.8 percent to 1,298.10 U.S. dollars an ounce.

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