Topline
China will impose an additional 34% import duty on all U.S. goods starting next week, in retaliation against President Donald Trump’s decision to impose a 34% “reciprocal tariff” on Chinese goods, state media announced on Friday.
All U.S. imports into China will face an additional 34% import duty starting April 10.
Key Facts
The new levies were announced by the Chinese State Council’s Tariff Commission, which said that the Trump administration’s tariff action “seriously undermines China’s legitimate rights and interests.”
The commission described the U.S. reciprocal tariffs as “typical unilateral bullying” and warned that the move also undermines America’s own interests and endangers global economic development.
In a separate announcement, China’s Ministry of Commerce said it had filed a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization against the U.S. tariffs, to allow the global trade body’s ’s dispute settlement mechanism to settle the issue.
Beijing said the latest round of Trump’s tariffs “seriously violate WTO rules” and damages the “legitimate rights and interests of WTO members,” and undermines the international economic and trade order.
In addition to the tariffs, the commerce ministry also announced expanded export controls controls on certain rare earths to the U.S. with immediate effect.
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How Have U.s. Futures Reacted To The Retaliatory Tariffs?
All three major futures indexes nosedived sharply after the Chinese announcement, with Dow Futures falling nearly 2.9% to 39,584 points. The benchmark S&P 500 dropped nearly 3% to 5,272.00 points in premarket trading early on Friday while tech-heavy Nasdaq futures were down 3.1% to 18,083.75 points.
What Tariffs Have Been Placed On Chinese Imports Into The U.s.?
On Wednesday, Trump announced sweeping “reciprocal tariffs” against 180 other countries and territories, and said they were in response to levies and non-tariff barriers placed on U.S. goods. China was hit with a 34% “reciprocal tariffs” which the White House argues was a “discounted” response against what they claimed was 67% charged by China. The administration did not explain how it came up with the percentage, but reports suggest the figure prices in the trade deficit that the U.S. has with the other country. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed that this levy was on top of the previously announced 20% tariffs on all Chinese goods, bringing the total rate to 54%.
Further Reading
Trump And Advisors Offer Contradictory Takes On Tariff Negotiations—What To Know (Forbes)
France’s Macron Says European Businesses Should Halt U.S. Investment—As Trump Tariffs Face Global Backlash (Forbes)
Trump Announces Reciprocal Tariff Rates—54% For China, 20% On EU (Forbes)
