‘It was a mistake for China to retaliate’ with more tariffs, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
President Donald Trump’s 104 percent tariffs on China and higher reciprocal levies on dozens of other nations went into effect at 12:01 a.m.
The White House confirmed that the president would follow through on his threat to impose an additional 50 percent tariff on all Chinese goods entering the United States.
In February, Trump imposed a 10 percent tariff on Beijing over fentanyl. Weeks later, he doubled the import duty to 20 percent. During the long-awaited April 2 “Make America Wealthy Again” event, the president announced a 34 percent reciprocal tariff on all Chinese imports.
Altogether, the U.S. tariff rate on the Chinese regime stands at 104 percent.
Beijing announced it would retaliate with tit-for-tat tariffs and other punitive trade measures. After Trump’s threat, Chinese officials confirmed they would not back down.
“It was a mistake for China to retaliate to the president. When America is punched, he punches back harder,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on April 8.
She added that Trump said if China reaches out to make a deal, “he’ll be incredibly gracious, but he’s going to do what’s best for the American people.”
The trade escalation will impact approximately $600 billion in annual U.S.-China trade, but officials say it is necessary to reduce the trade deficit.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called China’s decision a “big mistake.”
“I think it was a big mistake, this Chinese escalation, because they are playing with a pair of twos,” Bessent said in a CNBC interview, referencing a poker term. “What do we lose by the Chinese raising tariffs on us? We export one-fifth to them of what they export to us.”
In addition, Trump signed an executive order hours before the deadline imposing a 90 percent tariff on low-value packages exported to the United States from China through the international postal system.
The president initially established a tariff rate of 30 percent on packages worth less than $800, beginning on May 2. However, the new rate will be 90 percent, effective June 1.
By Andrew Moran
