News Brief
US president Donald Trump.
United States President Donald Trump has slapped an additional 50 per cent tariff hike on Chinese goods starting Wednesday, pushing the overall US tariff on China to an unprecedented 104 per cent, the White House confirmed.
After warning Beijing to roll back its 34 per cent retaliatory tariff on US goods within 24 hours, President Trump acted swiftly when China refused to budge—greenlighting a 104 per cent tariff within hours, NDTV reported.
Until last month, the US used to charge a 10 per cent tariff on Chinese goods.
Trump called this setup unfair, accusing China of "ripping off" the US with disproportionate duties.
Last week,Trump rolled out a "reciprocal tariff" formula, slapping an extra 34 per cent on China—raising the rate to 44 per cent.
Following Trump’s 2 April reciprocal tariff announcement, the White House cited a “national emergency” driven by security concerns and chronic trade deficits to justify a 10 per cent baseline tariff on all nations—pushing China’s total to 54 per cent.
Trump, however, signaled openness to talks, posting on Truth Social, "China also wants to make a deal, badly, but they don't know how to get it started. We are waiting for their call."
China earlier hit back at Trump’s ultimatum, dismissing it as “blackmail” and refusing to reverse its retaliatory tariffs.
"The US threat to escalate tariffs against China is a mistake on top of a mistake, which once again exposes the US's blackmailing nature," China's commerce ministry said in a statement, adding that "If the US insists on having its way, China will fight to the end."
With the US and China locked in a full-blown tariff war, global uncertainty looms.
Neither side is backing down, and markets are already reeling from the steepest plunge since the COVID-19 crisis.