China, the world’s second-largest economy, on Wednesday slapped an 84 percent tariff on US goods, up from 34 percent, in response to Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs on America’s trading partners.
In retaliation, Trump has ramped up tariffs on Chinese goods to 125 percent, despite pausing all global tariffs for 90 days on Wednesday.
China has been the only country measuring shoulders with America over its shocking tariffs that shook global markets last week and plunged down stocks.
The country first levied a 34 percent retaliatory tariff on US imports immediately after Trump announced the global tariffs, and promised to retaliate further, if Trump went on with an additional 50 percent tariff on Chinese goods.
On Wednesday, Trump escalated the exchange with a 50 percent hike in tariffs on Chinese imports, taking the total to 125 percent.
China’s Trade Ministry urged the United States to cancel all tariffs against China and resolve their trade dispute through dialogue.
“Pressure and threats are not the correct way to deal with China,” it said. “China reiterates that there are no winners in a trade war, and protectionism leads nowhere.”
“China will resolutely take countermeasures to safeguard its own interests,” it added.
According to NBC News, Trump said on Sunday that China could get a reduction in tariffs if it sells off TikTok’s operations in the US.
Both countries had edged towards finalising a deal over TikTok before Trump’s 34 percent tariff on China, which caused Beijing to back out.
The trade war between the world’s two biggest economies has sparked market anxiety, with an uncertainty looming over the the world’s economy in the coming weeks.
Trump announced global “retaliatory tariffs” last week, shaking markets for days as the US President fulfilled his campaign promise to stop what he sees as America being cheated by its trading partners.
He calculated the global tariffs using a formula based on US trade deficits with other countries.
Although he paused the tariffs on Wednesday just after they kicked off, he did not spared China. The trade war with China continues to shaken markets across the world.
Economists quoted by NBC News and CNN had kicked back against Trump’s tariffs, stating its potential to badly harm smaller nations and spike the cost of basic commodities in the US.
But the White House has continued to defend the tariffs as not only a means of preventing countries from ripping off America but also a means of generating additional revenue for the country.
“The United States has a chance to do something that should have been done DECADES AGO,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“Don’t be weak! Don’t be stup!d! Also ,Don’t be a PANICAN (A new party based on Weak and Stpid people!). Be Strong, Courageous, and Patient, and GREATNESS will be the result,” Trump told his supporters.
According to US media, some countries had been reaching out to America to negotiate tariffs cuts, just before Trump announced a 90-day pause.
Among such countries are Argentina, Vietnam, Cambodia, Israel and Poland, which are seeking to make agreements, with Vietnam willing to lower its tariffs on US goods to zero, according to NBC News. This, to Trump, is a winning point for the much-opposed tariff policy.
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