Trump threatens additional 50% tariff on China

President Donald Trump threatened to impose additional tariffs on China, warning that Chinese goods could face a 50% import tax starting on Wednesday if Beijing does not roll back its newly announced retaliatory measures.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said China had issued new retaliatory tariffs of 34% “on top of their already record setting tariffs” and accused the country of long-term economic abuses including currency manipulation, illegal subsidization of companies, and non-monetary trade barriers.

“Any country that retaliates against the U.S. by issuing additional tariffs… will be immediately met with new and substantially higher tariffs,” Trump wrote. He added that all ongoing trade talks with Chinese officials would be terminated and that the U.S. would instead begin meetings with other countries that had requested negotiations.

If enacted, the new tariffs would raise the total U.S. tariff rate on Chinese goods to 104%, according to AFP.

The threat follows Trump’s April 2 announcement of sweeping new reciprocal tariffs targeting over 180 countries. Those baseline tariffs took effect after midnight Saturday, with higher, country-specific duties scheduled to begin on Wednesday. China was originally assigned a 34% rate, which could now jump another 50% under the latest measure.

The unfolding trade war has already had major economic consequences. As reported last week, U.S. markets fell sharply on Thursday and Friday in the worst day for Wall Street since the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Market analysts cited fears that the tariffs could stifle global trade and drive up costs for manufacturers and consumers alike.

Trump has defended the tariffs as a long-overdue correction to decades of what he calls catastrophic trade policies. He characterized April 2 as “Liberation Day” and insisted that the tariffs are not punitive but rather a path to revitalize domestic manufacturing.