China vows to ‘fight to the end’ on President Trump’s tariffs
President Donald Trump threatened China with more tariffs after they put a 34% tariff on U.S. imports.
President Donald Trump’s latest tariff blitz rolled out Wednesday with a flurry of reciprocal levies on trading partners, including one sky-high fee: a tax on Chinese goods of 104%.
Trump had already implemented a sweeping tariffs plan that imposed 10% levies on almost all imports. On Wednesday targeted tariffs of up to 50% on more than 50 nations went into effect at 12:01 a.m.
But Trump has taken special aim at China, hitting the nation with an extra 50% on tariffs − in addition to an initial 20% that was supplemented by 34% “reciprocal” levies Wednesday − after Beijing said it would respond with a 34% tax of its own. China has remained defiant as the two nations seem locked in a tit-for-tat standoff amid a surging trade war.
“It was a mistake for China to retaliate,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday. “When America is punched, (Trump) punches back harder, and that’s why there will be 104% tariffs going into effect on China tonight at midnight.”
The tariff turmoil continued to take a toll on financial markets. The U.S. stock market on Tuesday initially rebounded amid talk of tariff negotiations but plunged at the close. European and Asian markets were lower Wednesday, and U.S. stock futures pointed down as well.
Trump’s advisers have said about 70 nations have contacted the administration to open tariff talks. China on Tuesday refused to budge. The nation’s Commerce Industry called the threat of escalation “a mistake on top of a mistake” and said: “China will never accept it.”
China began sensoring some tariff information on social media. Hashtags and searches for “tariff” or “104” were mostly blocked on social media platform Weibo.
Trump’s top economic adviser said Tuesday that he has put together a proposal outlining the countries that should receive priority for meetings amid requests for tariffs negotiations.
National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told Fox News that Trump is prioritizing talks with America’s top allies and trading partners, such as South Korea and Japan. He spoke to the leaders of both nations this week.
“There are a heck of a lot of concessions on the table,” Hassett said. “In the end, the president of course is going to be the one who decides whether the deal is good enough to change his mind about the tariffs.”
A recession is informally considered at least two straight quarters of declining economic output. But the technical definition is “a significant decline in economic activity that is spread across the economy and lasts more than a few months,” according to the nonprofit National Bureau of Economic Research.
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−Rachel Barber
Contributing: Reuters