….After Trump’s ‘reciprocal’ duties take effect
China has said it will raise its tariff on US goods to 84%, retaliating to the hefty new tariffs on its imports that kicked in on Wednesday in the renewed trade war.
The move came after the Trump administration followed through on a threat to add a 50% tariff on Chinese goods, in addition to 34% reciprocal tariffs, raising the overall tariff rate on Chinese goods to 104%.
The steep new duties on China and 184 other US trading partners took effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on Wednesday.
Beijing’s move marks further deterioration in US-China trade relations, after China vowed on Tuesday to “fight to the end” in the face of what it described as “blackmail” by the US.
A sour mood has once again gripped Wall Street after Tuesday’s optimism faded, with the S&P 500 (^GSPC) on the verge of a bear market Wednesday.
Trump on Tuesday claimed that China, as well as other countries, are keen to negotiate. Those talks have reportedly begun with Japan and South Korea. But he has remained defiant as members of his own party and Wall Street billionaires start to push back.
Trump’s expanded tariffs come on top of the blanket 10% tariff on all goods coming into the US, which took effect April 5.
Various countries are still deciding how to respond (or not), and companies have begun adjusting to the new reality — largely by raising prices.
Some countries responded with new tariffs of their own: Canada has announced new duties on certain vehicles imported from the US, while the EU is preparing an initial set of countermeasures.
The tariff rate applied to the 27-nation bloc of EU countries under the policy is 20%, and about 70% of the EU’s exports to the US are covered.
China has pulled the trigger on its retaliation to Trump’s trade war, announcing it will raise its tariff on imports from the US to 84%.
The move turns up the heat in the already escalating trade war between the world’s two biggest economies.
The US on Wednesday implemented a stack of like-for-like and additional tariffs on Chinese goods that brought the total levies to 104%.
China’s countermeasures will kick in on Thursday, the country’s finance ministry announced, per media reports.
