White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that President Donald Trump will begin imposing tariffs of at least 104% on all Chinese imports on Wednesday.
The tariffs that were already in place before Trump’s second term in office are supplemented by these new charges.
Originally, Trump’s “reciprocal” trade policy called for a 34% tariff increase on China. But after Beijing reaffirmed its intention to impose 34% retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods by Tuesday noon, the administration announced a further 50% increase. All of this adds up to a sharp 84% increase, raising the overall level of U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods to over 100%.
“Countries like China, who have chosen to retaliate and try to double down on their mistreatment of American workers, are making a mistake,” said Leavitt. “President Trump has a spine of steel, and he will not break.”
Leavitt claimed that China “wants to make a deal” but “just doesn’t know how,” while declining to specify what concessions might lead the U.S. to lower tariffs.
With $439 billion in goods shipped, China ranked as the second-largest source of U.S. imports last year, while the United States exported $144 billion to China. The growing tariff war may put pressure on domestic industries and lead to job losses, according to economists.
China’s Commerce Ministry responded on Tuesday, expressing strong opposition to the new measures and calling them “a mistake upon a mistake.” The ministry vowed further retaliation against U.S. exports.
Under new trade regulations unveiled last week, a number of other countries, including EU members, also face impending tariff increases. These tariffs, which range from 11% to 50%, will go into effect at midnight.
Leavitt affirmed that the administration is proceeding in spite of diplomatic attempts by different governments to negotiate delays or exemptions.
“President Trump expects these tariffs to go into effect,” she stated, adding that the president had instructed his trade team to pursue “tailor-made” deals with countries willing to negotiate. However, she emphasized these would not be “off-the-rack deals,” and offered no timeline for reaching agreements.
