The US-China trade work is taking another turn as China is set to raise retaliatory tariff on US imports from 34 percent up to 84 percent.
The Chinese Finance Ministry confirms this higher tariff takes effect on Thursday 10th April 2025.
US exports to China last year, amounts to 144 point six billion dollars in goods. Agricultural products were a key commodity, with China buying more than half of US Soyabean exports last year.
The US also exported fuel and oil products as well as electrical machinery. US Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent describes China’s new tariffs as unfortunate.
“The US escalation of tariffs on China is a mistake upon mistake, severely infringing upon China’s legitimate rights and interests, and seriously damaging the multilateral trading system based on rules,” China’s State Council Tariff Commission said in a statement announcing the fresh levy.
The amped-up retaliation comes after China repeatedly warned that it would “fight to the end” if the US moved forward with further tariffs. On Wednesday, Trump’s additional levies on Chinese imports had originally been set to increase by 34 percentage points.
The successive rounds of tariffs come as China has reveled in a feeling of greater economic vitality following years of grappling with a crisis in the property sector, high local government debt and the fallout from Beijing’s pandemic controls.
Last month, the Chinese government announced a slew of measures to rev up domestic consumption as it anticipated the impact from Trump’s trade policy on its export-powered growth.