Trump escalates tariff war with 50% hike threat to China
US President Donald Trump threatened on Monday to impose an additional 50% tariff on China on Wednesday if Beijing does not retract its retaliatory tariffs announced on Friday.
Donald Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social, that China had imposed retaliatory tariffs of 34%, adding to the already record-high duties, non-cash tariffs, illegal subsidies for companies, and extensive, long-term currency manipulation. He noted that this move came despite his warning that any country taking retaliatory measures against the United States would immediately face new, significantly higher tariffs, surpassing the original rates.
Trump threatens China
He stated that unless China reversed its 34% tariff increase by 8 April 2025, the United States would respond by introducing additional tariffs of 50%, starting from 9 April. He also declared the immediate suspension of trade talks with China, while confirming that negotiations with other countries seeking discussions would commence without delay.
If Trump fulfils his threat and the new 50% tariff is added to those already announced, it would mean that the base rate for almost all goods from China would be 104%.
Contrary to what Trump said, China announced retaliatory tariffs of 34% (the same as those announced by the US President last Wednesday) on Friday, and they are set to take effect on 10 April. According to the White House plan, "reciprocal" tariffs for goods from countries with trade surpluses with the USA will take effect on 9 April. Already, on Saturday, a 10% tariff was implemented for almost all countries worldwide.
Trump's announcement intensified fluctuations on Wall Street. Earlier, for a few minutes, all New York Stock Exchange indexes surged sharply after markets reacted to a misleading—as it later turned out—headline about a statement by Trump's advisor, Kevin Hassett, on a possible 90-day suspension of tariffs on all countries except China. Hassett was asked about this in an interview with Fox News but only responded that Trump "will do what he will do."
After the White House refuted the suspension of tariffs, stock prices fell sharply again. The Dow Jones index is currently down 1.7%.
