Sunday, April 13, 2025 - President Donald Trump on Friday, April 11, defended his escalating tariff policy amid growing tensions with China, asserting that the United States was “doing really well” even as Beijing announced a sharp increase in levies on American goods to 125 percent.
The move marks a deepening of the trade war between the
world’s two largest economies, sending global financial markets into fresh
turmoil.
Investors responded swiftly, dumping U.S. government bonds,
triggering a drop in the dollar, and sending stock prices fluctuating. The
latest upheaval follows Trump’s announcement last week of sweeping import taxes
on multiple trade partners. Though the administration later reduced those
tariffs to 10 percent for a 90-day period, the levies on Chinese goods were
raised, prompting swift retaliation from Beijing.
“We are doing really well on our tariff policy,” Trump wrote
on his Truth Social platform following China’s announcement. “Very exciting for
America, and the World!!! It is moving along quickly.” The White House later
stated that Trump remained optimistic about reaching a trade deal with China,
and noted that 15 other countries had offers “on the table” during the tariff
pause. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt emphasized, however, that “the
president made it very clear, when the United States is punched, he will punch
back harder.”
China and the U.S. have traded increasingly punitive tariffs
over the past week. Chinese President Xi Jinping addressed the tensions for the
first time on Friday, April 12, stating that China was “not afraid,” and urging
the European Union to “jointly resist unilateral bullying practices.” His
comments came during talks with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
Following Xi’s remarks, China’s Commerce Ministry declared
that the new 125 percent tariffs on U.S. goods would take effect Saturday,
April 12. The U.S. had earlier raised tariffs on Chinese imports to 145
percent. A spokesperson for China’s Commerce Ministry blamed the U.S. entirely
for the current impasse and dismissed Trump’s approach as a “numbers game” that
“will become a joke.” However, China’s finance ministry added that tariffs
would not rise further, effectively acknowledging that the current level had
rendered most imports impractical.
Despite the harsh rhetoric, Trump told reporters that he
remained hopeful for a deal with Xi. “He’s been a friend of mine for a long
period of time. I think that we’ll end up working out something that’s very
good for both countries,” he said. U.S. officials, however, have indicated that
they expect Xi to make the next move toward reconciliation.
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