Unless one side or the other blinks in the hours ahead, new American tariffs on imports from China will kick in at a minute past midnight. The White House confirmed Tuesday that tariffs of 104% will be imposed at 12:01am Wednesday, CNBC reports. Trump threatened to impose an extra 50% tariff on Chinese imports earlier this week after China brought in a 34% tariff on US goods to match Trump's previously announced 34% tariff. "It was a mistake for China to retaliate. The president, when America is punched, he punches back harder," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
"That's why there will be 104% tariffs going into effect on China tonight at midnight, but the president believes that Xi and China want to make a deal," Leavitt said. "They just don't know how to get that started." Leavitt said if China reaches out, Trump will "be incredibly gracious, but he's going to do what's best for the American people," the Guardian reports. "We are waiting for their call. It will happen," she said, per the Hill, though China has vowed to "fight to the end" if the US continues to escalate the trade war.
The 50% retaliatory tariff comes on top of the 34% tariff on Chinese goods Trump announced last week, which was already due to take effect on Wednesday. Those tariffs come on top of 20% tariffs on Chinese goods Trump imposed earlier—10% in February and 10% in March. But trade with China wasn't tariff-free before Trump began his second term. He imposed tariffs on some Chinese products during his first term, and President Biden increased some of them, bringing the average tariff to almost 21%, the Wall Street Journal reports. The new tariffs will bring the average tariff rate paid by American importers of Chinese goods to around 125%. (More tariffs stories.)
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