Trump Threatens Additional 50% Tariff on China

By Ryan Hanrahan

NBC News’ Peter Guo reported that “China said Tuesday it will ‘fight to the end’ if President Donald Trump imposes an additional 50% tariff on Chinese goods as many countries rush to negotiate trade with the United States.”

“If the plan is fully implemented, the total tariffs on goods imported into the United States from China would be as much as 104%. In response, the Chinese Commerce Ministry said China ‘firmly opposes’ Trump’s tariff threats, calling its previous countermeasures ‘entirely justified,’” Guo reported. “…Trump threatened the new 50% duty on China, effective Wednesday, if Beijing does not withdraw its 34% tariffs on all U.S. goods by Tuesday, which China imposed in retaliation for a 34% levy on Chinese goods the Trump administration announced last week.”

“‘Additionally, all talks with China concerning their requested meetings with us will be terminated!’ Trump wrote Monday on Truth Social. ‘Negotiations with other countries, which have also requested meetings, will begin taking place immediately,’” Guo reported. “Beijing’s retaliatory tariffs are scheduled to take effect Thursday.”

How Might China Respond?

CNBC’s Anniek Bao reported that “as risks of an intense U.S.-China trade war rise, Beijing might resort to further retaliatory measures, such as stopping purchases of U.S. agricultural goods, matching U.S. tariffs and further expansion of export controls on metals and minerals, Xu added.”

“Beijing has already placed export curbs on key rare earth elements, prohibited exports of dual-use items to a dozen of U.S. entities, U.S. firms to its ‘unreliable entities list,’ subjecting them to broader restrictions while operating in China,” Bao reported. “The People’s Bank of China on Tuesday set the midpoint rate for onshore yuan at 7.2038 per dollar, the weakest level since September 2023, according to data provider Wind Information. The yuan is allowed to trade within a 2% band of this midpoint rate.”

“The yuan’s weakening is a ‘big signal,’ Robin Brooks, senior fellow at Brookings Institution told CNBC’s Squawk Box Asia, ‘this is Beijing politely saying this is getting a little too much, we are putting you on notice, we can devalue if we want and bigger things may come if you keep this up,’” Bao reported. “‘This is a clear shot across the bow of Washington,’ Brooks added.”

NBC News’ Guo reported that “China will hit back at Trump with the same 50% duties if he proceeds with his threat, said Andy Xie, an independent economist in Shanghai. ‘If Trump wants to take you to hell, you take him with you,’ Xie said of China’s possible response in a phone interview Tuesday.”

“Xie said he thinks Beijing has concluded that compromise will only lead to more pressure from Trump. ‘China cannot back down anymore,’ he said,” according to Guo’s reporting.

U.S. Ag and Soybeans Could be in the Crosshairs

Reuters’ Ella Cao and Naveen Thukral reported that “China’s retaliation on Friday against new U.S. tariffs is poised to accelerate Beijing’s move towards alternative suppliers for agricultural goods including Brazil, a shift that began during the trade war of U.S. President Donald Trump’s first term.”

“‘This is going to cost the U.S. a lot of export business,’ Jack Scoville, vice president of the Chicago-based Price Futures Group, said. ‘We’re pissing off everybody. That’s the problem. Where are we going to turn if we’ve slapped everybody with tariffs?’” Cao and Thukral reported. “‘It is like shutting down all U.S. agricultural imports. We are not sure if any imports will be viable with 34% duty,’ said a Singapore-based trader at an international trading company which sells grains and oilseeds to China.”

“The March levies have accelerated a pivot away from U.S. soybean imports and shifted demand to Brazil, where a bumper harvest puts it on track to deliver a record-breaking second-quarter import surge for China,” Cao and Thukral reported. “…China remains the largest market for U.S. agricultural products, but imports of U.S. farm goods dropped for the second consecutive year, falling to $29.25 billion in 2024 from $42.8 billion in 2022.”

Trump Threatens Additional 50% Tariff on China was originally published by Farmdoc.