BEIJING: China on Thursday vowed firm countermeasures after President Donald Trump imposed 34 per cent tariffs on over $438 billion worth of Chinese imports to the US, urging Washington to roll back the levies immediately.
Trump announced the tariffs on imports from China on Wednesday as part of his sweeping efforts to reshape American trade policy.
China firmly opposes the US “reciprocal tariffs” and will take decisive action to safeguard its interests, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce said after Trump’s announcement.
“History shows that increasing tariffs cannot solve America’s internal issues. It harms US interests, disrupts global economic stability, and weakens industrial and supply chains,” the spokesperson said.
“There is no winner in a trade war, and protectionism leads nowhere,” official Chinese media quoted the spokesperson as saying.
Beijing slammed the tariffs as “unilateral bullying” that violates international trade norms and damages the legitimate rights of relevant parties. China urged the US to revoke its unilateral tariff measures and resolve trade disputes through dialogue on equal footing.
Tariff reaches 54%
The latest round of tariffs brings the total levies on Chinese goods to 54 per cent, nearing the 60 per cent Trump had threatened during his election campaign.
Earlier this year, Trump imposed two rounds of 10 per cent tariffs on Chinese goods, first in February and then in March. He later suggested he might reconsider the levies if Beijing agreed to a deal requiring ByteDance to divest its short-video app TikTok to a US buyer.
China has already hit back with an additional 15 per cent tariff on American goods and has taken the US to the World Trade Organization (WTO) over the issue. Additionally, it added 10 American firms to its “unreliable entity list,” targeting businesses involved in defence, AI, aviation, IT, and dual-use technologies with both civilian and military applications.
While Chinese officials argue that the tariffs will ultimately hurt US consumers more, analysts warn the levies could significantly reduce China’s exports to the US, further straining industries already grappling with the country’s economic slowdown.
The US is China’s third-largest export destination, following ASEAN and the European Union.
According to the Office of the US Trade Representative, total US-China goods trade was estimated at $582.4 billion in 2024. US exports to China stood at $143.5 billion, while imports from China totaled $438.9 billion, leaving a goods trade deficit of $295.4 billion.
By imposing heavy tariffs, Trump aims to pressure China into buying more American industrial and agricultural products.
Speaking from the White House’s Rose Garden, Trump said, “We’re going to be charging a discounted reciprocal tariff of 34%.”
He claimed China imposes tariffs of 67% on US goods, factoring in currency manipulation and trade barriers.
Here’s the break up
The new tariffs comprise a 10 per cent universal baseline and an additional 24 per cent specific to China. The 10% tariff takes effect on April 5, while the higher reciprocal tariffs will be implemented on April 9.
Trump has long argued for reciprocal tariffs to counter higher duties imposed by other countries on US goods and to address non-tariff barriers that disadvantage American exporters, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.
Defending the move, Trump said the new levies would correct years of unfair trade that had allowed other nations to exploit the US market.
At the White House, he described the move as “tough love” for China.
“I have great respect for President Xi Jinping, great respect for China, but they were taking tremendous advantage of us,” Trump said.
