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President Donald Trump will impose at least 104% tariffs on all Chinese import currencies, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
These new taxes add existing tariffs before Trump begins his second term.
Initially, China was scheduled to face a 34% tariff hike based on Trump’s “reciprocity” trade policy. But the government announced a 50% increase in Beijing’s plan to reiterate its plan to impose a 34% retaliatory tariff on U.S. goods by noon Tuesday. In short, this led to a sharp increase of 84%, bringing the total U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods to more than 100%.
“Countries like China choose to retaliate and try to redouble their efforts against the abuse of American workers,” Levitt said. “President Trump has a steel that he will not break.”
Levitt claimed that China “want to make a deal” but “just don’t know”, while refusing to specify which concessions could lead to the U.S. lowering tariffs.
China was the second largest source of U.S. imports last year, with goods worth $439 billion, while the U.S. exported $144 billion to China. Economists warn that an escalating tariff war could constitute domestic industries and lead to unemployment.
China’s Ministry of Commerce responded on Tuesday, expressing strong opposition to the new measures and calling it “wrong mistake.” The ministry vowed to further retaliate against U.S. exports.
Several other countries, including EU members, are also facing imminent tariffs under new trade rules announced last week. These tariffs will come into effect at midnight and range from 11% to 50%.
Despite efforts by governments to negotiate exemptions or delays, Leavitt confirmed the government is moving forward.
“President Trump expects these tariffs to take effect,” she said, adding that the president directed his trading team to conduct “tailored” deals with countries willing to negotiate. However, she stressed that these were not “off-the-shelf deals” and did not provide a timeline for reaching an agreement.
