China whacks US with extra 50 per cent tariff as trade war escalates

Singapore: China has hiked its tariff on US imports to 84 per cent, raising it by an extra 50 per cent to match US President Donald Trump’s latest increase, as the world’s two biggest economies go tit-for-tat in a trade war showdown.

China announced the revised levy will take effect on Thursday, as it repeated its accusations that America was engaging in “economic bullying”.

Beijing’s response comes hours after a crippling tariff of 104 per cent on Chinese imports into the US came into effect on Wednesday, alongside sweeping import duties on dozens of other countries, as Trump’s campaign to upend global trade systems entered its next phase.

Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are now locked in an escalating feud of tariff brinkmanship that is hammering global markets, upending trade norms and intensifying fears of a worldwide recession.

This is the second time in a matter of days that Beijing has matched the Trump administration’s tariffs. China retaliated to Trump’s new tariff, unveiled last week, by announcing its own like-for-like tariff of 34 per cent on US imports on Friday. Trump then responded this week by adding a further 50 per cent to China’s tariff scorecard – taking the cumulatively total to at least 104 per cent on all imports.

China’s latest counterstrike takes its total levy on US goods to 84 per cent. It also added a further 18 American companies to its trade blacklists, banning the sale of dual-use technology and prohibiting them from investing in China.

Stand-off: Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.Credit: AP

Many China analysts believe a trade deal between the two sides is now unlikely in the short term, as it would require either Xi or Trump to make major concessions amounting to a humiliating backdown.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said China’s escalating response “is a loser for them”, as he responded to the tariff hike in an interview with Fox Business Network.

“I think it’s unfortunate that the Chinese actually don’t want to come and negotiate because they are the worst offenders in the international trading system,” Bessent said.

Beijing has vowed to “fight to the end” and “resolutely take countermeasures” in response to Trump’s trade warfare. Trump, meanwhile, has claimed that Beijing is desperate for a deal.

“China also wants to make a deal, badly, but they don’t know how to get it started,” Trump posted on social media on Tuesday. “We are waiting for their call. It will happen!”

America imported more than $US430 billion worth of Chinese goods in 2024, according to US government data, with smartphones and laptops the largest categories of products. China imported about $US143.5 billion of US goods, with soybeans, oilseeds and grains the top products, along with fuels and electrical machinery.

Earlier on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian did not directly address questions about whether Trump’s claims that Beijing was seeking a deal were correct.

“If the US overlooks the interests of the two countries in the international community, and is determined to fight a tariff and a trade war, China’s response will continue to the end,” he said at a press conference in Beijing.

At the same time, China has kept open the door to negotiation. Beijing had released a White Paper on its trade and economic ties with the US, which states that friction in the relationship was normal and could be resolved through dialogue.

Trump’s barrage of tariffs on about 60 of America’s trading partners, which he has dubbed the “worst offenders” for running trade surpluses with the US, kicked in at 2.01pm AEST on Wednesday.

Asian stock markets took another battering as the US tariffs took effect. In addition to China, a string of Asian countries are bearing the brunt of Trump’s duties, first announced on April 2. Cambodia and Vietnam, which are hubs for Chinese-owned manufacturing operations, are facing 49 per cent and 46 per cent charges.

Imports from South Korea and Japan, which include cars and electronics, will be taxed at 26 and 24 per cent, respectively, while goods from the European Union will face 20 per cent levies.

Trump has rebuffed the mounting criticism directed at him on US soil and from abroad, boasting that more than 70 countries were seeking deals to escape the tariffs. 

“I’m telling you, these countries are calling us up, kissing my ass. They are. They’re dying to make a deal,” he told a Republican Party black-tie dinner in Washington on Tuesday.

The Chinese government has been eager to signal that its export-driven economy can endure the trade pain longer than the US, with Premier Li Qiang saying that Beijing had ample policy tools up its sleeve to “completely offset adverse external impacts”.

“China is full of confidence in maintaining its own sustained and healthy economic development,” Li, the second highest-ranked official in China, said during a phone call this week with EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, according to Beijing’s transcript of the call.

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