Key Points
- US increases duties on Chinese products to 145%
- China blames Trump for causing turbulence
- Trump pauses many tariffs for 90 days, except China
- EU armed with a wide range of countermeasures
- Xi says no winners in tariff wars
BEIJING: China on Friday announced that it would enhance tariffs on US goods to 125 percent but would ignore further levies by President Donald Trump as it makes no economic sense for importers to buy from America.
President Trump has decided to increase duties on Chinese products to 145 percent and raising the stakes in a trade war that threatens to global economy.
Following a turbulent week in the markets, marked by escalating trade barriers between the world’s two largest economies, Beijing brushed off President Trump’s intensifying tactics, labelling them a “joke” and merely a “numbers game.”
China blamed Trump for causing turbulence in the market with the massive tariffs that have hit the world, and said the United States “should bear full responsibility” for the chaos.
President Trump has implemented broad-ranging tariffs—significantly raising duties on numerous major economies—as a means to pressure manufacturers to relocate to the United States and to push other countries to reduce trade barriers against American goods.
However, after a week of market volatility, he appeared to backtrack in his efforts to reshape the post-war global trade system, pausing many tariffs for 90 days. Despite this temporary freeze, tariffs on Chinese imports were raised sharply, reaching a staggering 145 percent.
ALSO READ: US-China Trade War Intensifies as Trump Raises Tariffs to 145%
However, the Chinese finance ministry said further action by the US will be ignored because “at the current tariff level, there is no possibility of market acceptance for US goods exported to China”.
“The United States’ imposition of round upon round of abnormally high tariffs on China has become a numbers game with no practical significance in economics,” Beijing’s commerce ministry said.
“If the US continues to play the tariff numbers game, China will ignore it,” a spokesperson said.
Beijing also said it would file a lawsuit with the World Trade Organisation over the latest round of levies.
US striking news deals
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent shrugged off the renewed market turmoil on Thursday, saying that striking deals with other countries would bring certainty.
The United States and Vietnam have agreed to initiate formal trade negotiations, according to a statement from the White House. Reportedly, Vietnam, an emerging manufacturing hub in Southeast Asia, is ready to take action against the transshipment of Chinese goods through its territory to the US in an effort to help avoid American tariffs.
Meanwhile, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has established a trade task force, which is planning to visit Washington next week to engage in discussions.
Trump has acknowledged “a transition cost and transition problems” arising from his tariff strategy, but he has dismissed global market turmoil. “In the end, it’s going to be a beautiful thing,” he said.
He described the European Union as “very smart” to refrain from retaliatory levies.
“(The EU) were ready to announce retaliation. And then they heard about what we did with respect to China,” Trump said.
EU armed
European Union (EU)’s chief Ursula von der Leyen told the Financial Times that it remained armed with a “wide range of countermeasures” if negotiations with Trump hit the skids.
“An example is you could put a levy on the advertising revenues of digital services,” applying across the bloc, she said.
French President Emmanuel Macron also called upon the EU to keep preparing action to counter the tariffs, which are only paused but not scrapped.
“With the European Commission, we must show ourselves as strong: Europe must continue to work on all the necessary counter-measures,” he said on X.
We took note of the announcement by President Trump.
We want to give negotiations a chance.
While finalising the adoption of the EU countermeasures that saw strong support from our Member States, we will put them on hold for 90 days.
If negotiations are not satisfactory, our…
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) April 10, 2025
XI warns against US tariffs
Chinese President Xi Jinping, during a meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Friday, said Beijing was a “partner of the EU,” saying there are “no winners in tariff wars”.
“China and Europe should fulfil their international responsibilities… and jointly resist unilateral bullying practices,” Xi said.
This, he stressed, would not only “safeguard their own legitimate rights and interests, but also… safeguard international fairness and justice.”
China’s commerce ministry said on Thursday that China is open to dialogue with the US, but this must be on the basis of mutual respect and equality.
Pressure, threats, and blackmail are not the right way to deal with China, ministry spokesperson He Yongqian told a regular press briefing when asked about whether the world’s two largest economies have started tariff negotiations.
China will “follow through to the end” if the US insists on its own way, He said.
