WASHINGTON (AFP): US President Donald Trump on Monday threatened huge additional tariffs on imports from China if Beijing did not withdraw its retaliation plans, adding that Washington would begin negotiations with other countries that want them. “If China does not withdraw its 34% increase above their already long term trading abuses by tomorrow, April 8th, 2025, the United States will impose ADDITIONAL Tariffs on China of 50%, effective April 9th,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
Beijing has issued countermeasures after Trump announced another sharp tariff hike on goods from the world’s second biggest economy last week. Since returning to the presidency, Trump has imposed 20% added duties on Chinese imports over its alleged role in the fentanyl supply chain.
A fresh 34% levy on the country’s products is due to kick in on Wednesday, bringing the added rate this year to 54%. It is not immediately clear how Trump’s new threat factors into this calculation. China’s response included export controls on rare earth elements, and Beijing plans for its own 34% tariff on US goods, stacking atop existing Chinese levies set to begin April 10.
Trump took aim at Beijing’s economic practices on social media on Monday, criticizing its “non-monetary tariffs” and “illegal subsidisation of companies.” He added that “all talks with China concerning their requested meetings with us will be terminated.” But “negotiations with other countries, which have also requested meetings, will begin taking place immediately,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
The 27-nation bloc should “open the European toolbox, which is very comprehensive and can also be extremely aggressive,” he said. German Economy Minister Robert Habeck likewise said Europe should be prepared to use its trade “bazooka” — a new anti-coercion mechanism allowing it to punish any country using economic threats to exert pressure on the EU. But signs of divergence emerged from Ireland, whose low corporate tax rate has attracted US tech and pharmaceutical companies.
Targeting services “would be an extraordinary escalation,” said Irish Trade Minister Simon Harris. Trump on Sunday had doubled down, saying, “Sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something.” He told reporters aboard Air Force One that world leaders were “dying to make a deal”. Trillions of dollars have been wiped off stocks worldwide since Trump announced the tariffs last week, and the losses deepened on Monday.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon warned the tariffs “will likely increase inflation”, in a letter to shareholders Monday. “Whether or not the menu of tariffs causes a recession remains in question, but it will slow down growth,” he said. Taipei recorded its heaviest loss on record as it sank 9.7pc. The Stoxx Europe 600 index was down 5pc in early afternoon deals, with more than €1.5tr of market capitalisation going up in smoke over just a few days. The main US oil contract dropped below $60 a barrel for the first time since April 2021 on worries of a global recession.
“The market’s telling you in plain language: global demand is vanishing, and a global recession is on the cards and coming on fast,” said Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management. US officials said more than 50 countries have reached out to Trump to negotiate. Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Monday he had held a call with Trump in which they agreed to more talks on the tariffs.
Benjamin Netanyahu, prime minister of Israel — hit with 17pc tariffs, despite being one of Washington’s closest allies — was due on Monday to become the first leader to meet Trump since last week’s announcement. Vietnam, a manufacturing powerhouse with a big trade surplus with the United States, has already reached out and requested a delay of at least 45 days to thumping 46pc tariffs.
