In a recent press conference, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt made known the timing of this tariff implementation.
This move comes just two days after President Donald Trump threatened to raise tariffs by 50% if China did not retract its retaliatory measures. As a result, the total tariff that Chinese goods will face when entering the U.S. market has skyrocketed to 104%.
While the U.S. president stated he was waiting for a response from Beijing before the new tariffs take effect, other officials in his administration have not prioritized negotiating with the world’s second-largest economy. Economic advisor Kevin Hassett revealed that he was directed to prioritize negotiations with allies and trade partners such as Japan, South Korea, and others.
On China’s side, signals suggest that they will not yield to Trump’s tariff measures. The Ministry of Commerce described the U.S. threat as “a mistake on top of a mistake” and called for resolving differences through dialogue based on equality and mutual respect. Additionally, the agency stated that China would retaliate if the U.S. raised tariffs by 50%.
The news of the 104% tariff on Chinese goods has caused Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency market to go down.