Donald Trump announces additional 50 percent tariff on China as trade war escalates

This now takes the US tariff on all Chinese goods to an all-time high of 84 per cent as the US-China trade war escalates.

This is far above the 10 percent global tariff, which the White House declared applicable on all nations worldwide, and takes China's tally of Trump's tariffs to a staggering 94 percent.

President Trump has given Chinese Premier Xi Jinping a 24-hour window of opportunity to roll back or "withdraw" the additional tariff he has imposed against the US, failing to which, Chinese goods will face this revised 94 percent tariff in total.

Citing his earlier "warning" to "tariff abuser" China, he shared a post on his social media platform Truth Social, in which he wrote, "Yesterday, China issued retaliatory tariffs of 34 per cent, on top of their already record setting tariffs, non-monetary tariffs, illegal subsidization of companies, and massive long term currency manipulation, despite my warning that any country that retaliates against the US by issuing additional tariffs, above and beyond their already existing long term tariff abuse of our nation, will be immediately met with new and substantially higher tariffs, over and above those initially set."

He went on to warn that "If China does not withdraw its 34 per cent increase above their already long term trading abuses by tomorrow, April 8th, 2025, the United States will impose additional tariffs on China of 50 per cent, effective April 9th."

Trump's sweeping reciprocal tariffs

Triggering almost a global trade war, Trump on Wednesday announced tariffs of at least 10 percent on almost all goods from other countries, plus even higher rates for many nations, including friends, but deemed to be “worst offenders”.

Addressing an audience in the Rose Gardens of the White House, including rows of construction helmet-wearing workers, Trump had said, “The tariffs will not be fully reciprocal. I could have done that, I guess. But it would have been tough for a lot of countries."

Trump announced a 34 percent reciprocal tariff on China, 26 percent on India, and 20 percent on the European Union.

The Chinese government on Friday imposed an additional 34 percent tariffs on all imported U.S. products starting April 10, days after Washington announced reciprocal tariffs.