Trump Vows to Increase Tariffs on China if They Refuse to Remove Current Tariffs

President Donald Trump isn’t backing down even after China issued retaliatory tariffs on American products. Trump on Monday threatened to increase the existing tariff on Chinese imports by 50 percent if the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) does not lift the 34 percent retaliatory tariff it imposed on Sunday (Townhall).

Reporter Kyle Becker: China now says Trump’s tariffs are “bullying.” So, were China’s tariffs “bullying” the United States? The time of taking advantage of Americans needs to end (X).

China vows to “fight to the end.” It sounds more like they’ll fight to their end. They became a rich country because of the United States. It’s a sword that cuts both ways.

The additional levies have lifted the U.S. weighted average tariff rate on China to as high as 65%, and could dent China’s economy by 1.5 to 2 percentage points this year, according to Morgan Stanley.

They can talk tough but China’s economy is in trouble. It faces significant challenges, including a property market downturn, deflation, and slowed consumer spending, contributing to a potential prolonged recession.

China’s Economy Is in Deep Trouble

Trump Threatens to Slap an Additional 50% Tariff on China

By: Alyssa Lukpat, Wall Street Journal:

President Trump said he plans to add an additional 50% tariff on China starting Wednesday if the country doesn’t withdraw its retaliatory tariff increase on the U.S. China, the second-largest economy behind the U.S., said last week it would hit all U.S. goods with an additional 34% tariff starting Thursday.

Trump added in a social-media post Monday morning that talks with China to arrange meetings would be terminated. “If China does not withdraw its 34% increase above their already long term trading abuses by tomorrow, April 8th, 2025, the United States will impose ADDITIONAL Tariffs on China,” he wrote. Indexes were down following the president’s post.

[….]

>Beijing lashed back at President Trump’s threat of even higher tariffs on China, raising the specter of an all-out trade war between the world’s two biggest economies. “If the U.S. insists on its own way, China will fight to the end,” the country’s Commerce Ministry said Tuesday.

rump had said he would slap an extra 50% tariff on China if Beijing didn’t drop plans to retaliate against extra levies he announced last week.

In a sign Beijing is digging in for a protracted battle, the government threw its weight behind the stock market and devalued the yuan against the dollar, pulling a reference rate below a key threshold for the first time since the fall of 2023.

In recent trading:

U.S. stock futures surged. Contracts for the S&P 500, Nasdaq-100 and Dow industrials all gained more than 2.5%.

Treasury yields edged higher. Ten-year yields settled Monday at 4.164%, after their sharpest one-day rise in a year.

The WSJ Dollar Index weakened.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 shot up 6%, after selling off Monday. Other Asian stocks mostly rose, as did European ones, led by the defense sector.

Indonesia’s stock market tumbled on reopening after a holiday that began before last week’s “Liberation Day.” Indonesia was one of several Southeast Asian economies Trump targeted with hefty levies.