The White House has officially imposed additional 50% tariffs on China as of Midnight April 9.
This comes with the already imposed 54% tariff which Trump had officiated on April 2, making the total tariffs on Chinese goods entering the US a whopping 104%.
The initial tariff on China was 20%
On April 2 when Trump announced he would be imposing tariffs on almost all nations, with most getting a baseline tariff of 10%, some countries got a higher percentage.
The president gave China a 34% tariff, which was added onto the existing 20% that had already been there, making total tariffs on China 54% as of April 7.
But then China retaliated
After the tariffs on Chinese goods entering the US became 54%, China retaliated by announcing a 34% tariff on all American goods entering the Asian country.
But the US didn’t like this, and Trump threatened to add another 50% tariff on Chinese goods, giving China a deadline for negotiation that ended at noon on April 8.
The tariffs are now set higher
With the deadline for negotiation passing, the extra 50% tariff came into effect at midnight on April 9.
This makes the total tariffs imposed by the US on China an eye-watering 104%. Essentially this means that the world’s two largest economies seem to be getting into a trade war.
China isn’t backing down
While some nations resorted to trying to negotiate with Trump to reduce tariffs on their goods, China only responded with retaliation.
The country has described the US president’s measures as ‘blackmail’ and said it would ‘fight till the end’, The Independent reports.
They don’t like being threatened by the US
In a statement, China’s commerce ministry said, “The US threat to escalate tariffs on China is a mistake on top of a mistake. China will never accept it. If the US insists on its own way, China will fight to the end.”
This could seriously affect the global economy
The stock market faced its worst day since the Covid-19 pandemic after Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ where he imposed all the new tariffs.
And this isn’t the only economic shock to hit US companies, but the tariffs on Chinese goods in particular could really hurt the pockets of American consumers and companies alike.
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The US imports billions worth of goods from China
In 2024 alone, the US imported around $439 billion worth of goods from China, and exported around $143.5 billion worth of goods to China, according to Reuters. So Chinese goods are important for the American economy.
Mexico was the only country to have sold more to the US than China in 2024, with the US importing over $500 billion worth of goods from Mexico.
Prices could soar even higher
These US-China tariffs will hit companies in the US importing goods from China and the American public very hard, because when tariffs increase, typically so do the prices.
Since tariffs are fees paid on imports, if the prices of imported goods more than doubles, then it’s likely companies will raise their prices to compensate for having to pay such high fees to the US government.
Karoline Leavitt had spoken about the warning
Following Trump’s initial warning to add another 50% tariff on China, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “The Chinese want to make a deal. They just don’t know how to do it. [Trump] believes China has to make a deal with the United States.”
She also added that Trump was being “incredibly gracious, but he’s going to do what’s best for the American people.”
Prices on tech will likely increase soon
So what are the types of things coming in from China into the US? The answer is mostly electronics and smartphones. An iPhone could now cost around $3,500 with around 90% of iPhones being assembled in China.
Global head of technology research at financial services firm Wedbush Securities, Dan Ives, told CNN, “It’s an economic Armageddon, but especially for the tech industry.”
