Associated Press
China again vowed to “fight to the end” Wednesday in an escalating trade war with the U.S. as it announced it would raise tariffs on American goods to 84% from Thursday.
Beijing also added an array of countermeasures after U.S. President Donald Trump raised the total tariff on imports from China to 104%. Beijing said it was launching an additional suit against the U.S. at the World Trade Organization and placed further restrictions on American companies’ trade with Chinese companies.
“If the U.S. insists on further escalating its economic and trade restrictions, China has the firm will and abundant means to take necessary countermeasures and fight to the end,” the Ministry of Commerce wrote in a statement introducing its white paper on trade with the U.S.
The government declined to say whether it would negotiate with the White House, as many other countries have started doing.
On Friday, China announced a 34% tariff on all goods imported from the U.S, export controls on rare earths minerals, and a slew of other measures in response to Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs. Trump then added an additional 50% tariff on goods from China, saying negotiations with them were terminated.
Wednesday’s newest measures include adding 11 American companies to a so-called “unreliable entities” list that would bar Chinese companies from selling them dual-use goods. Among the companies are American Photonics, and SYNEXXUS, both of whom work with the American military.
The paper says that the U.S. has not honored the promises it made in the phase 1 trade deal concluded during Trump’s first term. As an example, it said that a U.S. law that would ban TikTok unless it is sold by its Chinese parent company violates a promise that neither would “pressure the other party to transfer technology to its own individuals.”
Trump signed an order to keep TikTok running for another 75 days last week after a potential deal to sell the app to American owners was put on ice. ByteDance representatives called the White House to indicate that China would no longer approve the deal until there could be negotiations about trade and tariffs.
The paper also argued that taking into account trade in services and U.S. companies’ domestic Chinese branches, economic exchange between the two countries is “roughly in balance.”
It says that China had a trade in services deficit with the U.S. of $26.57 billion in 2023, which is composed of industries like insurance, banking and accounting. Trump’s tariffs were designed to close trade deficits with foreign countries, but those were calculated only based on trades in physical, tangible goods.
“History and facts have proven that the United States’ increase in tariffs will not solve its own problems,” said the statement from the Chinese commerce ministry. “Instead, it will trigger sharp fluctuations in financial markets, push up U.S. inflation pressure, weaken the U.S. industrial base and increase the risk of a U.S. economic recession, which will ultimately only backfire on itself.
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Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
11 comments
Peachy
April 9, 2025 at 9:03 am
Who will blink first?
JD
April 9, 2025 at 10:23 am
This has no end game Helmet. The people are going to lose. Stop spreading propaganda.
Peachy
April 9, 2025 at 10:43 am
I knew I would flush the PB. Soft as they come.
JD
April 9, 2025 at 10:49 am
So the whole point was to “flush a PB”? That’s your strategy? Sounds more like emotional constipation than debate.
Peachy
April 9, 2025 at 10:52 am
Nope. I made a factual statement. “Who will blink first”. That is what I said. Then you come back with your name calling so challenge accepted
JD
April 9, 2025 at 11:17 am
The US Senate will blink first then (already did) and then the house – someone will challenge the speaker again to either remove him or get him off the pot.
ScienceBLVR
April 9, 2025 at 2:52 pm
Well well, Trump just paused tariffs for 90 days! Guess he blinked first.. what a ninny
As the S&P 500 approached a 20% drop over the past week, investors made clear one thing they thought could stop the selling. President Trump needed to back off the tariffs.
Ocean Joe
April 9, 2025 at 1:56 pm
Looks like your boy blinked around 1:45 with a 90 day pause because he knows he’s in trouble. “BE COOL!” Isnt that what he wrote on Truth Social? Markets rising dramatically until his next hare-brained move (probably any minute). Dont know if the pause applies to China or Ivanka’s patents.
Michael K
April 9, 2025 at 10:17 am
The feckless felonious moron has a simplistic fixation on tariffs and performative stunts – all to feed his insatiable greedy ego. All he cares about is himself. He’s erased 10 trillion dollars of wealth in a matter of days. In less than three months, he’s destroyed decades of cultivated global alliances and treaties, while abandoning once-trusted partners.
He could care less about the impact on ordinary people. All he wants is for people to “kiss my ass.” And that’s a quote—some leader.
And for what end? Misery and suffering and ignorance and stupidity are all he has to offer.
JD
April 9, 2025 at 10:30 am
The 2025 trade war is escalating, and the consequences are mounting. Tariffs have led to price hikes, economic instability, and growing public discontent. Protests are increasing nationwide in response to inflation, job losses, and supply chain issues.
Internally, the GOP is fracturing. Key senators have openly criticized the administration’s approach, with some warning that continued economic strain could cost them the House in 2026. Others within the party fear a broader backlash that could shift Senate control and alienate major donors.
At the same time, Project 2025 leaders have made concerning comments about an “American Revolution” that will only remain peaceful if opposition complies. They are goading people into martial law. F@ck those guys.
We’re at a crossroads. The choices being made are increasingly binary, driven by loyalty to a political figure rather than democratic ideals. The outcome won’t just define the next election cycle, it may redefine the future of American governance.
Paul Passarelli
April 9, 2025 at 11:09 am
Bluster is the recourse of the party with nothing to fall back upon.
China is blustering like there is no tomorrow.