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China retaliated to President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs going into effect on Wednesday (April 9) by levying its own 84% tariff on United States imports, NBC News reports.
“The U.S.’s practice of escalating tariffs on China is a mistake on top of a mistake, which seriously infringes on China’s legitimate rights and interests, seriously damages the rules-based multilateral trading system, and seriously impacts the stability of the global economic order. It is a typical example of unilateralism, protectionism, and economic bullying,” China's customs agency said in a statement on its website.
China initially planned to retaliate with a 34% tariff on U.S. imports. Trump implemented a 104% cumulative rate on Chinese imports, which added to levies he already enacted during his first of two non-consecutive presidential terms.
Last Wednesday (April 2), Trump announced that the U.S. would impose trade barriers on American exports as part of sweeping "reciprocal" tariffs on other countries, which he dubbed "Liberation Day."
"For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far. ... Foreign leaders have stolen our jobs, foreign cheaters have ransacked our factories and foreign scavengers have torn apart our once beautiful American dream," Trump said via Yahoo! News.
"But it is not going to happen anymore," he continued. "Reciprocal — that means they do it to us, and we do it to them. Very simple. Can't get any simpler than that."
The United States stock market experienced a significant downturn as the tariffs and trade wars were initiated, seeing the largest decline since the 2020 stock market crash influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic during Trump's first of two non-consecutive presidential terms. Trump said he has no plans to back away from his sweeping tariff plans in a post shared on his Truth Social account Monday morning, claiming there would be "NO INFLATION" following an ensuing stock market downturn.
"Oil prices are down, interest rates are down (the slow moving Fed should cut rates!), food prices are down, there is NO INFLATION, and the long time abused USA is bringing in Billions of Dollars a week from the abusing countries on Tariffs that are already in place," Trump wrote. "This is despite the fact that the biggest abuser of them all, China, whose markets are crashing, just raised its Tariffs by 34%, on top of its long term ridiculously high Tariffs (Plus!), not acknowledging my warning for abusing countries not to retaliate. They’ve made enough, for decades, taking advantage of the Good OL’ USA! Our past “leaders” are to blame for allowing this, and so much else, to happen to our Country. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
"The United States has a chance to do something that should have been done DECADES AGO," he wrote in a followup post. "Don’t be Weak! Don’t be Stupid! Don’t be a PANICAN (A new party based on Weak and Stupid people!). Be Strong, Courageous, and Patient, and GREATNESS will be the result!"
Trump's Truth Social comments came as two of his biggest supporters, billionaires Elon Musk and Bill Ackman, both appeared to publicly differ from the tariff decision in post shared on social media.