US to impose 104% tariffs on China starting Wednesday

US President Donald Trump is set to impose a 104% tariff on all Chinese imports on Wednesday, April 9, White House spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt said, CNN reports.

China was set to raise tariffs by 34% on Wednesday as part of Trump’s “reciprocal” tariff package. But the US president added another 50% after Beijing did not back down from its promise to impose a 34% retaliatory tariff on US goods.

“Countries like China that have decided to retaliate and tried to double down on their mistreatment of American workers are making a mistake. President Trump has a spine of steel, and it will not break,” Levitt said.

She said the Chinese “want to make a deal, they just don’t know how to do it.”

China was the second-largest source of U.S. imports last year, with $439 billion in goods shipped to the U.S., while the U.S. exported $144 billion. The retaliatory tariffs threaten to hurt domestic industries and could lead to layoffs.

Meanwhile, dozens of other countries, as well as the European Union, are facing deadlines for new tariffs. The tariffs, which Trump unveiled last week, range from 11 percent to 50 percent.

Levitt told a briefing that despite a series of talks with world leaders to negotiate tariff reductions, Trump has no intention of delaying his plans.

At the same time, a White House spokeswoman said Trump has instructed his trade team to strike “individual” deals with countries that want to negotiate.

On April 2, China received an additional 34% from the White House in addition to the 20% tariffs already in place. Beijing called on Washington to hold “equal consultations” on trade resumptions, pointing to how stock markets reacted to the tariff hikes.

Tags: EU, USA