Chinese companies and workers face challenges due to rising U.S. tariffs, as Beijing is unwilling to budge.
News Analysis
People and businesses across China are feeling the pressure as the Chinese authorities vow staunch resistance to the United States and the Trump administration’s tough approach to trade and bilateral relations.
Chinese companies, workers, and industry insiders have reported being caught in a bind by the escalating U.S. tariffs, as usual orders are not coming in, and some companies are being compelled to take extreme measures.
While Chinese social media is flooded with anti-U.S. propaganda and nationalist content, posts and videos warning of mass layoffs and prolonged “vacations” offer some indication of the unease spreading throughout an export-driven economy already struggling with high unemployment, shrinking profits, and declining foreign investment.
On April 11, U.S. President Donald Trump hiked the blanket tariff on most Chinese products to 145 percent in response to the Chinese regime slapping its own 125 percent retaliatory duty on American goods the same day.
In addition, Beijing on April 14 restricted the export of seven types of rare earth products critical for high-tech and military manufacturing in the United States and other countries.
According to a White House fact sheet published on April 15, some Chinese products may now face U.S. tariffs of up to 245 percent.
Trump has cited unfair trade practices and illegal drug trafficking as reasons for imposing the levies on Chinese goods.
Washington, particularly starting with the first Trump administration, has long called out the Chinese regime for decades of distortionary and protectionist economic policies, as well as rampant industrial espionage.
Trump also criticized Beijing for failing to curb the production and export of the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl, which often entered the United States through Mexico.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said in a December 2024 press release that more than 107,000 people died from drug overdose in 2023, with nearly 70 percent of those deaths linked to opioids such as fentanyl.
By Leo Timm
