China Vows to Fight Back as US Threatens 50% Tariff Hike, Calls It 'Economic Blackmail'
"It's blackmail." This was China’s sharp response to US President Donald Trump’s latest threat to impose an additional 50% tariff on Chinese goods, as Beijing pledged to resist trade pressures "to the end." The US leader has given China 24 hours to retract its retaliatory 34% tariff on American imports, announced last week.
If neither side backs down and Trump follows through, total new tariffs on Chinese goods entering the US could surge to 104% this year, intensifying a trade conflict that has already triggered the worst market downturn since the pandemic.
"The US threat to escalate tariffs against China is a mistake on top of a mistake, which once again exposes the US's blackmailing nature," China’s commerce ministry stated on Tuesday. "If the US insists on having its way, China will fight to the end."
The ministry reiterated its call for "dialogue" with Washington, warning that there are "no winners in a trade war."
China’s Defiant Strategy
Beijing’s firm stance reflects its strategy of positioning itself as a bulwark against what it labels "unilateral bullying" by the US. Over the weekend, Chinese officials signaled their readiness to endure a prolonged trade battle.
"US tariffs will have an impact (on China), but 'the sky won't fall,'" declared a commentary in the Communist Party’s People’s Daily on Sunday. "Since the US initiated the (first) trade war in 2017—no matter how the US fights or presses—we have continued to develop and progress, demonstrating resilience—'the more pressure we get, the stronger we become.'"
Escalating US-China Trade War
Trump announced on Tuesday that he would enforce the new 50% tariff on Chinese imports starting Wednesday unless Beijing revoked its 34% duties on US goods. These Chinese tariffs were themselves a countermeasure to Trump’s earlier 34% "reciprocal" levies. With last week’s increases, the average US tariff on Chinese products is already set to rise to 76%.
The fallout from Trump’s tariffs has rattled global markets, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index plunging 13.2% on Monday—its steepest drop since the Asian financial crisis—before recovering slightly in early Tuesday trading.
Economists are skeptical about the benefits of further tariff hikes for the US.
"Since China already faces a tariff rate in excess of 60%, it doesn't matter if it goes up by 50% or 500%," said Xu Tianchen, senior economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit. "What China can do is stop US farming purchases, match US tariffs, and expand its export controls across the periodic table of chemical elements."
If neither side backs down and Trump follows through, total new tariffs on Chinese goods entering the US could surge to 104% this year, intensifying a trade conflict that has already triggered the worst market downturn since the pandemic.
"The US threat to escalate tariffs against China is a mistake on top of a mistake, which once again exposes the US's blackmailing nature," China’s commerce ministry stated on Tuesday. "If the US insists on having its way, China will fight to the end."
The ministry reiterated its call for "dialogue" with Washington, warning that there are "no winners in a trade war."
China’s Defiant Strategy
Beijing’s firm stance reflects its strategy of positioning itself as a bulwark against what it labels "unilateral bullying" by the US. Over the weekend, Chinese officials signaled their readiness to endure a prolonged trade battle.
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"US tariffs will have an impact (on China), but 'the sky won't fall,'" declared a commentary in the Communist Party’s People’s Daily on Sunday. "Since the US initiated the (first) trade war in 2017—no matter how the US fights or presses—we have continued to develop and progress, demonstrating resilience—'the more pressure we get, the stronger we become.'"
Escalating US-China Trade War
Trump announced on Tuesday that he would enforce the new 50% tariff on Chinese imports starting Wednesday unless Beijing revoked its 34% duties on US goods. These Chinese tariffs were themselves a countermeasure to Trump’s earlier 34% "reciprocal" levies. With last week’s increases, the average US tariff on Chinese products is already set to rise to 76%.
The fallout from Trump’s tariffs has rattled global markets, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index plunging 13.2% on Monday—its steepest drop since the Asian financial crisis—before recovering slightly in early Tuesday trading.
Economists are skeptical about the benefits of further tariff hikes for the US.
"Since China already faces a tariff rate in excess of 60%, it doesn't matter if it goes up by 50% or 500%," said Xu Tianchen, senior economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit. "What China can do is stop US farming purchases, match US tariffs, and expand its export controls across the periodic table of chemical elements."
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