The President of the United States heightened trade tensions with China on Sunday by issuing an ultimatum regarding newly imposed Chinese tariffs.
In a message on Truth Social, he cautioned that if Beijing does not retract its newly announced 34% tariff increase by April 8, the U.S. will retaliate with a 50% tariff increase set to take effect on April 9.
This hike would be in addition to existing U.S. tariffs and would put an end to ongoing discussions with China.
The President described China’s actions as “retaliatory” and part of a broader trend of “long-term trade abuses,” which he attributed to non-monetary trade barriers, illegal subsidization of companies, and currency manipulation.
He suggested that conversations with China would be halted while talks with other nations would proceed immediately.
His early morning post on Truth Social stated,
“Yesterday, China announced Retaliatory Tariffs of 34%, in addition to their already record-high Tariffs, Non-Monetary Tariffs, Illegal Subsidization of companies, and extensive long-term Currency Manipulation, despite my warning that any nation that retaliates against the U.S. with further Tariffs, above and beyond their existing long-term Tariff abuses, will promptly face new and significantly higher Tariffs, surpassing the initial ones set. Therefore, if China does not withdraw its 34% increase above their already long-standing trading abuses by tomorrow, April 8th, 2025, the United States will impose ADDITIONAL Tariffs on China of 50%, effective April 9th. Furthermore, all discussions with China regarding their meeting requests will be terminated! Negotiations with other countries that have also sought meetings will commence immediately. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
In a separate post on Twitter/X, the President asserted that the U.S. economy was reaping rewards from current tariffs, pointing to declines in oil, food, and interest rates while denying the existence of inflation. He reiterated his belief that previous U.S. administrations allowed China to secure an unfair edge in trade, labeling China as the “biggest abuser of them all.”
These statements prompted immediate reactions in the markets. U.S. equity futures dropped, and cryptocurrency prices also fell. Bitcoin fell to $78,000, losing $1,000 within an hour following the posts and extending its daily decline to over 6% from a peak of nearly $83,000 earlier that Sunday.
This sudden rhetoric has added fresh uncertainty to global markets, which are already grappling with changing monetary policies and geopolitical instability. With the potential 50% tariff increase looming in just 48 hours, investors are left to ponder whether Beijing will respond or escalate the ongoing standoff.
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