Topline
President Donald Trump threatened to impose an additional 50% tax on imported Chinese goods, unless Beijing cancels its plans for a 34% reciprocal tariff on U.S. products set to take effect Thursday—as multiple other global leaders have said they’re negotiating tariffs with the White House.
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters on Air Force One, en route to Joint Base Andrews on April … More
Key Facts
The White House assigned one of the steepest levies—34%—to China, on top of a 20% tariff imposed earlier this year, meaning the tax would climb to 104% if Trump follows through with his latest threat.
China announced the 34% tariff on imported U.S. products, starting Thursday, in retaliation for the new tariffs Trump announced last week.
Meanwhile, the White House has said it’s in talks with dozens of other countries after last week’s announcement—Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to visit the White House on Monday in hopes of making a deal with Trump, and the European Union Commission said it offered Trump a “zero-for-zero” tariff deal on industrial goods.
Key Background
Trump last week announced new “reciprocal” tariffs on more than 180 countries on what he coined “Liberation Day,” with many of the rates far exceeding expectations, including a 10% baseline rate for all countries, a 20% tax on the European Union, 24% for Japan and 26% for India. Trump has remained defiant even as global stocks continued to tank Monday in the wake of the announcement, accelerating recession fears and warnings that inflation will worsen under the tariffs. Trump dismissed those concerns Monday on Truth Social, writing “Don’t be Weak! Don’t be Stupid!” while urging patience and falsely claiming “there is NO INFLATION.” He has repeatedly likened the tariffs to treatment of a sick patient—the U.S. economy, according to his analogy—telling reporters Sunday aboard Air Force One “sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something.”
Tangent
All three U.S. stock indices briefly rebounded Monday in the wake of an unsubstantiated rumor that Trump was considering a 90-day pause to the tariffs, only to drop again less than an hour later when the White House said the report was false.
Further Reading
Will Trump Negotiate Tariffs? Japan And Israel Head To U.S. To Negotiate As Countries Make Offers (Forbes)
Billionaires Including Elon Musk Speak Out Over Global Market Meltdown And Trump Tariffs (Forbes)
