In a strong retaliatory move, China has announced an 84% export tariff on all U.S. products, following the United States’ imposition of a 104% tariff on Chinese goods. The announcement came via a statement issued by China’s Ministry of Commerce on Wednesday.
According to the statement, the newly imposed Chinese tariffs will take effect from April 10.
On April 2, U.S. President Donald Trump declared increased export tariffs on all countries maintaining trade relations with the United States, placing a 34% tariff specifically on Chinese goods. In a counter-response, Beijing imposed a 34% tariff on American goods the very next day.
Outraged by the move, President Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, on Monday, April 7, warning that if China did not withdraw its tariffs by Tuesday, April 8, he would increase tariffs on all Chinese exports by another 50%, effective April 9.
Following Trump’s warning, Russian news outlet RT contacted China’s Ministry of Commerce. A ministry spokesperson told RT that Beijing was not intimidated by the U.S. President’s threats and was fully prepared to fight back if the U.S. continued what it called “economic coercion.”
Since China did not comply with Trump’s ultimatum, the U.S. enforced its increased tariffs on Chinese goods starting today, April 9—bringing the total tariff on Chinese imports to 104%.
In immediate response, China raised its export tariffs on U.S. products to 84%, also effective from April 9.
At the original announcement event held in the Rose Garden of the White House on April 2, President Trump stated that a baseline 10% tariff would be imposed on countries like the UK, Turkey, and Singapore, among 12 others. Other countries would face higher tariffs. Vietnam was hit with the highest at 46%, while Bangladesh faced a 37% tariff.
The collection of the baseline tariffs began on April 5, with collection of tariffs above 10% starting today, April 9.