China slaps a 34% tax on all US imports in retaliation for Trump's
tariffs
[April 05, 2025] By
HUIZHONG WU, ELAINE KURTENBACH and DIDI TANG
BANGKOK (AP) — China announced Friday that it will impose a 34% tax on
all U.S. imports next week, part of a flurry of retaliatory measures to
U.S. President Donald Trump’s new tariffs that delivered the strongest
response yet from Beijing to the American leader's trade war.
The tariffs taking effect Thursday match the rate that Trump this week
ordered imposed on Chinese products flowing into the United States. In
February and March, Trump slapped two rounds of 10% tariffs on Chinese
goods, citing allegations of Beijing's role in the fentanyl crisis.
The U.S. stock market plunged Friday following China’s retaliatory
moves. They include more export controls on rare earth minerals, which
are critical for various technologies, and a lawsuit at the World Trade
Organization over what Trump has dubbed reciprocal tariffs.
China also suspended imports of sorghum, poultry and bonemeal from six
U.S. companies, added 27 firms to lists of companies facing trade
restrictions, and launched an anti-monopoly investigation into DuPont
China Group Co., a subsidiary of the multinational chemical giant.
Trump posted Friday on Truth Social: “CHINA PLAYED IT WRONG, THEY
PANICKED - THE ONE THING THEY CANNOT AFFORD TO DO.”
Yet he also indicated he could still negotiate with China on the sale of
TikTok even after Beijing pressed pause on a deal following the new
tariffs. On Friday, he extended the deadline for the social media app to
divest from its Chinese parent company, per a federal law, for another
75 days.
“We hope to continue working in Good Faith with China, who I understand
are not very happy about our Reciprocal Tariffs,” Trump posted on his
social media site. “We look forward to working with TikTok and China to
close the Deal.”
China's response to tariffs grows tougher
Beijing’s response is “notably less restrained” than during the recent
two rounds of 10% tariffs on Chinese goods, and that “likely reflects
the Chinese leadership’s diminished hopes for a trade deal with the
U.S., at least in the short term,” wrote Gabriel Wildau, managing
director of the consultancy Teneo.
He said Beijing's tough response could trigger further escalation, with
no sign that Chinese President Xi Jinping and Trump might meet soon or
get on the phone to ease the tensions.
If China’s previous responses were scalpels, this time it drew a sword,
said Craig Singleton, senior China fellow at the Foundation for Defense
of Democracies, a Washington-based think tank.
“China’s new tariffs stop short of full-blown trade war, but they mark a
clear escalation — matching Trump blow-for-blow and signaling that Xi
Jinping won’t sit back under pressure,” Singleton said.
But the escalation also is squeezing out space for diplomacy, he warned.
“The longer this drags, the harder it becomes for either side to
deescalate without losing face,” Singleton said.
What China's retaliatory measures look like
In Beijing, the Commerce Ministry said it would impose more export
controls on rare earths — materials used in high-tech products such as
computer chips and electric vehicle batteries. Included in the list was
samarium and its compounds, which are used in aerospace manufacturing
and the defense sector. Another element called gadolinium is used in MRI
scans.
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Aerial view of a ro-ro terminal for vehicle shipment in Yantai in
eastern China's Shandong province, Thursday, April 3, 2025. (Chinatopix
Via AP)
 China's customs administration said
it had suspended imports from two U.S. poultry businesses after
officials detected furazolidone, a drug banned in China, in
shipments from those companies. It said it found high levels of mold
in the sorghum and found salmonella in the bonemeal feeds from four
other U.S. companies.
The Chinese government said it also added 16 U.S. companies to the
export control list, subjecting them to an export ban of dual-use
products. Among them are High Point Aerotechnologies, a defense tech
company, and Universal Logistics Holding, a publicly traded
transportation and logistics company.
An additional 11 U.S. companies were added to the unreliable entity
list, including the American drone makers Skydio and BRINC Drones,
banning them from import and export activities as well as making new
investments in China.
In announcing its WTO lawsuit, the Commerce Ministry said Trump's
new tariffs move “seriously violates WTO rules, seriously damages
the legitimate rights and interests of WTO members, and seriously
undermines the rules-based multilateral trading system and
international economic and trade order.”
The ministry called the tariffs “a typical unilateral bullying
practice that endangers the stability of the global economic and
trade order.”
Beijing's previous tariff moves
In February, in response to Trump's first 10% tariff, China
announced a 15% tariff on imports of coal and liquefied natural gas
products from the U.S. It separately added a 10% tariff on crude
oil, agricultural machinery and large-engine cars.
A month later, Beijing responded to Trump's second round with
additional tariffs of up to 15% on imports of key U.S. farm
products, including chicken, pork, soy and beef. Experts then said
Beijing exercised restraint, leaving room for negotiations with
Washington.
By now, dozens of U.S. companies are subject to controls on trade
and investment, while many more Chinese companies face similar
limits on dealings with U.S. firms.
While friction on the trade front has been heating up, the two sides
have maintained military dialogue.
U.S. and Chinese military officials met this week for the first time
Trump took office in January to share concerns about military safety
on the seas. The talks held Wednesday and Thursday in Shanghai were
aimed at minimizing the risk of trouble, both sides said.
___
Tang reported from Washington.
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