The American prices on imports from China actually total 145%, announced the White House on Thursday, in a case of reception of prices between the two largest economies in the world which threatens to upset world trade.
On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump announced that he was increasing 125%Chinese import prices. But the White House said Thursday who did not include a 20% price that the United States had previously imposed on China for fentanyl trade. The addition of this takes the total of China’s tariffs at 145%.
Trump’s tariff hike against China came when he announced a 90 -day surprise break from radical tasks of more than 75 other countries. He said these countries had sought to negotiate with the United States and had not used any reprisals.
At a meeting of the cabinet on Thursday, Trump said that it was open to concluding an agreement with China. He also warned that he would return to higher rates if the United States does not reach an agreement with many of its business partners during the temporary price suspension period.
“If we cannot conclude the agreement we want to conclude, or we must do, or it’s good for both parties … then we go back where we were,” said Trump.
He refused to say if he would extend the break period in such a possibility. “We have to see what’s going on at the time,” he said.
Trump also said that he expects “transitional and transitional cost problems” linked to his tariff measures. But he defended his actions, saying that the measures helped the United States bring billions of dollars every day.
The roller coaster mountains that started when Trump said the tariff “liberation day” continued last week on Thursday. The US reference stock markets produced a large part of the gains that had been made on Wednesday when the market had displayed a historic rally.
“(China really took advantage of our country for a long time. They torn us away … All we do, is to put it back in shape where we put the table,” Trump told journalists on Thursday.
Trump open to deal with China
Despite the emerging trade war and difficult rhetoric, Trump called Chinese Jinping President a “friend” and said the United States would be open to concluding a mutually beneficial agreement.
“We will see what is happening with China. We would like to be able to conclude an agreement,” Trump told journalists.
“I have great respect for President XI. In a real sense, he has been one of my friends for a long time and I think we will end up working something that is very good for both countries. I look forward to it. ”
In response to Trump’s latest tariff hike, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Lin Jiian, said China did not want to fight trade and tariff wars, but will not start when a trade war and price will arrive.
China had announced its own reprisals of 84% on all American imports.
Thursday, XI called for the construction of a community with a “shared future with neighboring countries”, a decision that analysts consider as a strategic attempt from China to mitigate the impact of the current tariff war with the United States thanks to a stronger commitment with the South and South-East Nations of Asia.
The XI declaration at a conference on work related to neighboring countries was before his official visit to Malaysia, Vietnam and Cambodia next week.
Impact of trade war
The businessman based in China, Zhang Shengqi, told RFA that he expects China and the United States to suffer in the short term from the trade war, but believes that China will be more difficult for the long term because of its high dependence on exports to the United States.
The United States, on the other hand, can take advantage of this opportunity to promote the repatriation of the supply chain and obtain negotiation advantages, and gradually reconstruct its sovereign economic system, he said.
“The 125% price imposed by the United States in China is not a real Trump conduit, but a deterrent card, intended to reshape the order of the world’s fair fair trade and to force China to renegotiate,” said Zhang.
A Taiwanese businessman, who asked for anonymity for fear of reprisals, said his friends and partners in continental China felt helpless about the situation but are forced to accept reality.
The operations of many factories in China have been considerably reduced, with only those who meet the most basic needs of consumers who still work, he said, citing the examples of food, clothing, housing and transport industries.
He stressed that China earns more than $ 300 billion in annual trade with the United States. “If this export income is considerably reduced, it will have a huge impact on the Chinese economy,” he said.
A large number of factories that depend on exports to the United States can face a wave of closures, which will result in large-scale unemployment, he added.
“The factories will not be able to reimburse bank loans, which will cause risk of debt in the financial system.
But experts warn that there will also be negative effects on American consumers, who have used low -cost products made in China and American manufacturers who depend on contributions from China to support their business.
In 2024, American exports to China amounted to $ 143.5 billion, while imports totaled $ 439.9 billion, according to the office of the American commercial representative.
According to research published Thursday by Yale’s LAB budget, Trump’s latest prices would harm the average American households, costing them $ 4,700 per year.
The Mandarin journalist of the FRG, Huang Chun-Mei, contributed the reports. Edited by Mat Pennington.