A few hours have been active 104% duties on all Chinese goods imported in the United States. These will be added to those of 20% already in force before Trump’s settlement to the White House, reaching a total that touches 125%. The measure, announced on Tuesday 8 April by the spokesman for the White House Karoline Leavitt, is a retaliation against Beijing’s decision to impose 34% duties on the goods that China matters from the United States, a measure that in turn is the direct reaction to the duties against China announced by Washington during the “Liberation Day“On 2 April. Meanwhile, in the late morning of Wednesday 9 April, the Beijing government announced that it will bring its rates on the Made in the USA assets from 34% to 84% starting from noon on April 10.
Because the duties at China are so high
In the event that you are asking you, the reasons that pushed Trump to apply such high duties towards China are mainly two: first of all, China represents the main commercial partner of the United States (China is in fact the second imported country for the USA), but it is also the country with which the United States recorded the greater deficit (In other words, the US acquire more assets from China than those sell to the latter). In 2024, trade between China and the United States reached a total value of 582 billion dollars: the United States exported assets for almost 144 billion total, while China exported assets for 439 billion dollars of goods. The commercial deficit of the United States therefore amounts to about 295 billion dollars. Trump is convinced that China has taken advantage of the US economy too much, and that it now has to adjust the accounts.
The second reason is very clear and clear: China is seen by the US government as theEconomic, most dangerous economic, political opponent, which must be stemmed on all fronts. According to the Trump administration, free trade and economic interconnection with China have only weakened the United States, while they have made China stronger, and now the link between the two countries should be reduced or completely interrupted.
The skepticism of world bags
After days of very heavy losses in bags around the world, the umpteenth escalation of the global commercial war declared by the Trump administration dragged the prices of Wall Streetwhich on Tuesday closed with All the lists in red. The Dow Jones (the best known stock of the New York Stock Exchange) fell by 320 points, equal to 0.84%. The Standard & Poor 500 index dropped by 1.57%. The Nasdaq technological price list recorded a 2.15%descent.
Also the lists of the main ones Asian bags have opened with great uncertainty On Wednesday 9 April: the Japanese Nikkei 225 who opened 3%losses. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng also dropped by 3%. The Kospi of South Korea and the ASX 200 index of Australia both fell by about 1%.
The zeal of the Trump Administration
While the financial world shows a lot distrust in the economic policy of the Trump administrationthe President’s intention to continue with a strategy that for the newspaper L’Aconomist “has reported the commercial policies of the United States in late nineteenth century”.
Despite the unsatisfied articles of various American and international news on the matter, the spokesman for the White House Karoline Leavitt he convinced that::
Countries like China, who have chosen to respond and try to insist on mistreating American workers, are making a mistake. The President Trump has a steel backbone and will not give in to.
Furthermore, according to what was written on Tuesday 8 April by the same Trump on his social media Truth“China wants to make an agreement very muchbut he doesn’t know where to start. We are waiting for their phone call. It will happen!».
As if that were not enough, a few hours ago he returned the dose: during a fundraising dinner for the Republican Party, the president said, regarding the states that are “doing everything” to deal with him and avoid duties:
These countries call us, they kiss me the cu*oare dying from the desire to make an agreement.
The attack on online trade
In addition to 104% duties on Chinese imports, Tuesday evening Donald Trump also signed an executive order that Eliminates the so -called “exemption de minimis” on shipments from China towards the United States for a value of less than 800 dollars. According to a previous measure, these goods would have been taxed by 30% starting from May 2, but now this percentage has been set at 90%. This means a significant increase in prices For all US consumers who order Products on online platforms such as Shein, Temu or Aliexpress.
The reaction of China to the US duties
The increasingly serious threats and measures against him have not scared Chinese President Xi Jinping. His government has announced that he is studying several measures to “surgically” affect the US strategic sectors. The hypothesis of a significant increase in duties on US agricultural products such as soy and sorghumthe ban on importing US poultry, the suspension of cooperation on the contrast to the illegal sale of the components to produce the Fenestanilthe limitation of access to the service marketnarrowing or even the Total prohibition of the import of US films And the investigation on how much American companies have gained from their intellectual property in China.
Meanwhile, in the late morning of April 9, China announced its response to duties bringing its tariffs to the goods made in the USA from 34% to 84%which will take effect from 12:01 on 10 April 2025. Meanwhile, the Beijing government has urged the United States to immediately correct the wrong practices, and to cancel the unilateral tariff measures that Trump has launched against China. Other issues, reported a note from the Ministry of Finance, will be implemented in the next few hours.
