Trump threatens new 50% tariffs on China

Donald Trump has warned China that it will face an additional 50% tariff on goods imported into the U.S. if it doesn't retract its 34% counter-tariff, as global markets continue to decline.

Beijing responded on Sunday, following Trump's decision last week to impose a 34% tax on Chinese imports as part of his "Liberation Day" initiative, which introduced a minimum 10% levy on nearly all of America's trading partners.

On Monday, Trump took to social media, giving China until Tuesday to remove its countermeasure or face the 50% tariff.

In retaliation, the Chinese embassy in the U.S. accused Washington of "economic bullying," asserting that Beijing would "firmly safeguard its legitimate rights and interests."

If Trump follows through on his threat, U.S. companies could face a combined tariff rate of 104% on Chinese imports, adding to the 20% tariffs already imposed in March and the 34% introduced last week.

Concerns are growing that this could escalate the trade war between the world’s two largest economies and global rivals.

Trump, in a post on Truth Social, also declared that “all talks with China concerning their requested meetings with us [on tariffs] will be terminated!”

Additionally, on Monday, the U.S. president made it clear that he wasn’t considering halting global import tariffs to facilitate negotiations with other countries.

“We’re not looking at that. We have many, many countries that are coming to negotiate deals with us, and there are going to be fair deals,” Trump stated.

Trump argued that China imposed its countermeasure despite his warning that any nation retaliating against the U.S. with additional tariffs would face “new and substantially higher Tariffs.”

In response, Beijing accused the U.S. of "economic bullying." A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy, Liu Pengyu, said that "pressuring or threatening China is not the right way to engage."

"The U.S. hegemonic move under the guise of 'reciprocity' serves its own selfish interests at the expense of other countries' legitimate rights, putting 'America first' over international rules," Liu said in a statement, calling the actions a prime example of unilateralism, protectionism, and economic bullying.

Speaking from the White House, Trump suggested that both permanent tariffs and negotiations could be on the table.

"We have $36 trillion (£28 trillion) in debt for a reason," he remarked, adding that the U.S. would work with China and other countries to secure “a fair deal and a good deal.”

"It's now America first," Trump declared.

These tariffs could severely impact Chinese manufacturers, for whom the U.S. is a crucial export market.

China’s main exports to the U.S. include electrical products, machinery, computers, furniture, toys, vehicles, and equipment. Conversely, the U.S.’s top exports to China are oilseeds, grains, aircraft, machinery, and pharmaceuticals.

The uncertainty surrounding the tariffs led to a volatile day on global stock markets. Following Trump’s tariff announcement, global markets tumbled, with U.S. stock markets seeing sharp declines on Monday, though they later recovered some of the losses. Europe’s major markets, including London's FTSE 100, ended the day more than 4% lower.

Asian stock indexes took a significant hit on Monday, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index plummeting more than 13%, its steepest one-day drop since 1997. However, most markets showed a slight recovery on Tuesday, with several bourses opening higher.

Negotiations

Trump's post on Monday also revealed that negotiations on tariff rates with various countries would "begin taking place immediately."

On the same day, Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House. Netanyahu stated that Israel would work to eliminate its trade imbalance with the U.S., calling it "the right thing to do."

"We intend to do it very quickly... and we’re also going to eliminate trade barriers," Netanyahu added.

Starting April 9, Israel will face a 17% tariff under Trump’s "Liberation Day" policy.

Earlier, Trump also shared that Japan would be sending a negotiation team to discuss tariffs.

In addition, Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, proposed a "zero-for-zero tariff" deal with Trump. However, she also made it clear that the EU had not ruled out retaliation, stating, "We are also prepared to respond through countermeasures and defend our interests."

Trump responded later by asserting that the EU was "formed to really do damage to the United States and trade."