China wasted no time in responding to the reciprocal tariffs announced by United States president Donald Trump on Wednesday (April 2, 2025). On Friday (April 4), China announced a further tariff of 34% on goods imported from the US, matching the tariff rate imposed by the US.
Nonetheless, the true tariff rate that the US is imposing on China is 54% since it stacks on top of the prevailing 20% announced earlier. In response to Bloomberg, China’s average tariff on US goods stood at 17.8%, lower than the 32.8% the US charged on Chinese goods
“This practice of the US will not be consistent with international trade rules, seriously undermines China’s legitimate rights and interests and is a typical unilateral bullying practice,” China’s state council tariff commission said in a press release. The 34% tariff that China is imposing on the US will come into effect starting April 10.
Moreover, China also added 11 American corporations to its “unreliable entity list,” which are actually subject to punitive actions. Export controls were also placed on 16 American corporations to ban the export of Chinese dual-use items (goods which may be used for each civil and military applications). It doesn’t stop there, as China also unveiled export controls on seven sorts of rare-earth minerals to the US.
China’s retaliation against the most recent round of US tariffs is more far-reaching that what it had done previously. Back in February, China responded to Trump’s initial round of tariffs by taxing agricultural machinery, large-displacements cars in addition to pick-up trucks. Moreover, certain sorts of coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG), along crude oil, were also subject to tariffs.
Following China’s tariff retaliation, Trump took to his own social media platform – Truth Social – to say China “played it unsuitable” and that “they panicked.” He also vowed that his economic policies “won’t ever change,” reports Bloomberg.
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This Article First Appeared At paultan.org
