Washington:
Donald Trump has announced an additional 50 per cent tariff on China less than 48 hours after Beijing announced a tit-for-tat 34 per cent tariff on the United States, which Trump had declared two days earlier as part of his reciprocal tariff order. This now takes US’ tariff on all Chinese goods to an all-time high of 84 per cent as the US-China trade war escalates.
This is over and above a 10 per cent global tariff, which the White House has said, applies to all nations worldwide, taking China’s tally of Trump’s tariffs to a staggering 94 per cent. Though President Trump gave China’s Xi Jinping a 24-hour window of opportunity to roll-back or “withdraw” the additional tariff he has imposed against the US, failing which, Chinese goods will face this revised 94 per cent tariff in total.
President Trump made the announcement at around 11:30 am (US time – 9 pm India time). Citing his earlier “warning” to “tariff abuser” China, he shared a post on his social media platform Truth Social, in which he wrote, “Yesterday, China issued retaliatory tariffs of 34 per cent, on top of their already record setting tariffs, non-monetary tariffs, illegal subsidization of companies, and massive long term currency manipulation, despite my warning that any country that retaliates against the US by issuing additional tariffs, above and beyond their already existing long term tariff abuse of our nation, will be immediately met with new and substantially higher tariffs, over and above those initially set.”
He went on to warn that “If China does not withdraw its 34 per cent increase above their already long term trading abuses by tomorrow, April 8th, 2025, the United States will impose additional tariffs on China of 50 per cent, effective April 9th.”
The furious US president also threatened the end all talks with China regarding Beijing’s request for dialogue amid a globally spiralling tariff war. He also said that nations that have not retaliated the US import duty, will be given a chance to negotiate. “Additionally, all talks with China concerning their requested meetings with us will be terminated! Negotiations with other countries, which have also requested meetings, will begin taking place immediately. Thank you for your attention to this matter,” he wrote.
Global stock markets and oil prices have been in a free fall for the past 72 hours over President Trump order to impose reciprocal tariffs on nations that tariff America. “These are, as the name suggests, just reciprocal – which means we do to them, what they do to us”, President Trump had said during his Wednesday announcement.
China, who President Trump has repeatedly singled out for its gross “tariff abuse” against the United States “for decades”, swiftly hit back with Beijing upping existing US tariffs by an additional 34 per cent – the same as what Trump levied on them. Before Trump’s announcement, Beijing had warned that reciprocal tariffs will lead to a “painful trade war” which will “not benefit anyone”.
