China to increase tariffs on US goods to 84%, says finance ministry

BEIJING – China will impose 84 per cent tariffs on US goods from April 10, up from the 34 per cent previously announced, its finance ministry said on April 9, firing the latest salvo in a global trade war sparked by US President Donald Trump.

Mr Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs on dozens of countries

took effect earlier on April 9,

including massive 104 per cent duties on Chinese goods.

The European Union is also preparing

its own retaliatory measures

for later on April 9.

Mr Trump’s punishing tariffs – which he says aim to end US trade deficits with many countries – have upended a global trading order in place for decades, raising fears of recession and wiping trillions of dollars off the market value of major firms.

Global markets took a pummelling on April 9 as Mr Trump’s eye-watering 104 per cent tariffs on China came into effect, and a savage sell-off in US bonds sparked fears that foreign funds were fleeing US assets.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in an interview with Fox Business Network, said China’s new tariffs were unfortunate.

“They have the most imbalanced economy in the history of the modern world, and I can tell you that this escalation is a loser for them,” he said.

This week has already brought crisis-era volatility to markets, wiping trillions of dollars off the value of stocks and hammering commodities and emerging markets.

Shares of big US banks fell pre-market, extending tariffs-induced losses after China announced its 84 per cent tariffs on US goods. Oil prices extended their four-year lows.

“The US and China are stuck in an unprecedented, and expensive, game of chicken, and it seems that both sides are unwilling to back down,” said Dr Ting Lu, chief China economist at Nomura.

Mr Trump nearly doubled duties on Chinese imports, which had been set at 54 per cent last week, in response to

previous counter-tariffs from Beijing.

The White House had no immediate comment on China’s latest retaliatory move.

On April 9, China’s commerce ministry added 12 US companies to its export control list and six to its unreliable entities list, effective from April 10, according to ministry statements.

Companies added to the export control list include American Photonics and Novotech. Exports of dual-use items to these companies will be banned.

Those added to the unreliable entities list, including Shield AI and Sierra Nevada Corporation, will be banned from China-related import and export activities, and investing in China.

Earlier in the day, China called its trade surplus with the US an inevitability and warned it had the “determination and means” to continue the fight if Mr Trump kept hitting Chinese goods.

China’s currency has

faced heavy downward pressure,

with the offshore yuan at record lows due to the tariffs, but sources told Reuters the central bank has asked major state-owned banks to reduce US dollar purchases and will not allow sharp yuan declines.

Meanwhile, China told the World Trade Organisation (WTO) that the US’ tariffs threatened to further destabilise global trade.

“The situation has dangerously escalated... As one of the affected members, China expresses grave concern and firm opposition to this reckless move,” China said in a statement to the WTO on April 9 that was sent to Reuters by the Chinese mission to the WTO.

Market rout

Since Mr Trump

unveiled his tariffs on April 2,

the S&P 500 has suffered its deepest loss since the benchmark’s creation in the 1950s. It is now nearing a bear market, defined as 20 per cent below its most recent high.

US Treasuries were also caught up in the market turmoil and extended heavy losses on April 9 in a sign investors are dumping even their safest assets and the dollar, a traditional safe-haven, was weaker against other major currencies.

European shares fell and US stock futures pointed to more pain ahead, following a grim session for most of Asia.

Mr Trump has shrugged off the market rout and offered investors mixed signals about whether the tariffs will remain in the long term, describing them as “permanent” but also boasting that they are pressuring other leaders to ask for negotiations.

European Union countries are expected to approve the bloc’s first countermeasures against Mr Trump’s tariffs on April 9, joining China and Canada in pushing back.

The European Commission, which coordinates EU trade policy, has proposed extra duties, mostly of 25 per cent, on a range of US imports from motorcycles, poultry, fruit, wood, and clothing to dental floss, according to a document seen by Reuters.

They are to enter into force in stages. REUTERS