China announced an 84% tariff against the United States after President Donald Trump raised tariffs against Beijing to 104% on Wednesday.
“The U.S. escalation of tariffs on China is a mistake on top of a mistake, severely infringing upon China’s legitimate rights and interests, and seriously damaging the multilateral trading system based on rules,” China’s State Council Tariff Commission said in a statement announcing the latest levy, which brings China’s total tariffs on all U.S. imports up to 118%.
China’s Commerce Ministry also imposed export controls on a dozen U.S. companies and added six U.S. firms to its “unreliable entity list,” banning them from trading or making new investments in China, according to CNN.
The news came after Chinese officials said Wednesday that Trump made a “mistake” in placing steep tariffs on China. They accused the president of trying to exercise “blackmail” and vowed to fight the U.S. “to the end” as tensions over Beijing’s handling of the fentanyl crisis turn into a global war over trade.
In retaliation, Beijing announced 10%-15% tariffs on U.S. agricultural and energy products, followed by an additional 34% tariff on all U.S. imports last Friday.
The trade disputes began over two months ago when Trump slapped 10% tariffs on China to incentivize Beijing to take more aggressive action to end the fentanyl crisis. That number has increased since February, with the White House announcing Wednesday night an increase from 34% additional tariffs to 84%.
TRUMP WON’T PAUSE RECIPROCAL TARIFFS TO ALLOW FOR NEGOTIATIONS
During an interview Wednesday morning on Fox Business Network, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent weighed in on the tariff war, arguing the escalation was a “loser” for Beijing and saying, “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.”
“They have the most imbalanced economy in the history of the modern world,” he continued. “And I can tell you that this escalation is a loser for them, that they have some very smart — the economists, the academicians, technocrats within their bureaucracy — and they would be telling the leadership that we do not have the edge here. They are the surplus country, and their exports to the U.S. are five times our exports to China, so they can raise their tariffs, but so what?”
