Then on March 4, Trump doubled the tariff on all Chinese imports to 20 percent. Continuing the to-and-fro momentum, China retaliated by announcing tariffs of up to 15 percent on US farm products, like chicken, pork, soybeans and beef. The POTUS then threatened to inflict a 25 percent tariff on all imports from countries that buy oil or gas from Venezuela, where China stands as the country’s biggest buyer, purchasing 68 percent of its oil in 2023, reports PBS. On April 2, Trump then confirmed the US will charge a 34 percent tax on imports from China on top of the existing 20 percent, presenting a 54 percent hike in total.
What was China’s reaction?
China is not very happy with the decision, as was to be expected.
In less than 72 hours, Beijing said that it will match Trump’s tariffs by imposing a 34 percent duty on US goods starting on April 10.
Trump responded by stating that if China does not remove the duty, another 50% tax will be imposed as of April 9, increasing the total tariffs to 104%.
In the ongoing spat with Trump, China’s Commerce Ministry has accused the US of “blackmail” and “bullying” and warned that additional counter-tariffs for American goods may be forthcoming.
The US threat to increase tariffs on China is a mistake on top of a mistake and reveals the US’s blackmailing attitude once more, the ministry stated.
“This will never be accepted in China. China would battle until the very end if the US insists on getting its way.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) has also been sued by the country, which claims that Trump’s tariffs “seriously violate WTO rules.”
Why Trump disapproved of China’s response
When it comes to trading practices, Trump has referred to China as the “biggest abuser of them all” and isn’t backing down.
He claimed that the US is being harmed by China’s tariffs on his Truth Social platform.
“Oil prices are down, interest rates are down (the slow moving Fed should cut rates!), food prices are down, there is NO INFLATION, and the long time abused USA is bringing in Billions of Dollars a week from the abusing countries on Tariffs that are already in place,” Trump tweeted.
