Donald Trump has rebuked China for not heeding his warning not to retaliate over tariffs.
In a post on his Truth Social platform on Monday morning, the U.S. president called China “the biggest abuser” of free trade with the U.S.
“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.,” he wrote.
Trump annnounced on April 2 an additional 34 percent “reciprocal” tariff on Chinese goods, on top of two rounds of 10 percent tariffs already declared in February and March.
China on Friday announced its own 34 percent sweeping tariff rate on U.S. goods, and suspended imports of several U.S. agricultural products and rare earth elements.
Why It Matters
The U.S. and China are by far the world’s largest national economies.
China last week became the first country to issue retaliatory tariffs in response to Trump’s new taxes on imports as others weigh their own responses.
Economists have warned an escalating trade war between the two countries would have significant global ramifications, including rising costs to consumers.
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, on June 29, 2019.
Susan Walsh/AP Photo
What to Know
In his Truth Social post, Trump dubbed China the “biggest abuser” of free trade with the U.S., criticized what he called the country’s “ridiculously high Tariffs” on American goods, and said that Beijing’s financial “markets are crashing.”
He also said the tariffs were “bringing on Billions of Dollars a week” to the U.S. and called on the U.S. Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, claiming there was “no inflation.” The annual inflation rate for the U.S. was 2.8 percent for the 12 months ending February. The Fed targets a long-term rate of 2 percent.
Trump has given different reasons for the new tariffs, including raising federal funds, protecting U.S. industries, and as a possible negotiating tool.
Last week, the White House said, “China’s non-market policies and practices have given China global dominance in key manufacturing industries, decimating U.S. industry,” which it estimated cost 3.7 million U.S. jobs between 2001 and 2018.
After the tariffs were unveiled in front of TV cameras at the White House, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told those countries named: “Do not retaliate, sit back, take it in, let’s see how it goes, because, if you retaliate, there will be escalation.”
Financial markets have slumped since Trump announced the tariffs on April 2, a date he called “Liberation Day.”
In China, the Shanghai Composite Index dropped by 7.3 percent, its largest one-day loss since February 2020 around the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell more than 13 percent, it is biggest single day drop since 1997.
American markets too have suffered. Last week, the Dow posted back-to-back losses of more than 1,500 points for the first time, while the S&P 500 on Friday had its worst day since the outbreak of the COVID pandemic in March 2020, dropping 6 percent.
JPMorgan has warned the U.S. is at significant risk of entering a recession this year as a result of the market turmoil responding to Trump’s tariffs.
Trump recently defended his tariffs plans causing global markets to fall, telling reporters on Air Force One on Sunday, “sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something.”
Chinese state media has accused U.S. leaders of recklessly employing “economic bullying tactics.”
In an editorial published on Saturday, China’s Global Times newspaper warned the tariff strategy “will ultimately backfire and undermine the US-led free trade order.”
What People Are Saying
President Donald Trump writing on Truth Social: “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. 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!”
Lin Jian, China’s Foreign Affairs spokesperson, said: “The U.S. is seeking hegemony in the name of reciprocity, sacrificing the legitimate interests of all countries to serve its own selfish interests, and prioritizing the U.S. over international rules.
“This is typical unilateralism, protectionism and economic bullying.The abuse of tariffs by the United States is tantamount to depriving countries, especially those in the Global South, of their right to development.”
Rintaro Nishimura, an associate in the Japan practice of The Asia Group, a Washington-based strategic advisory firm, told the Associated Press: “The idea that there’s so much uncertainty going forward about how these tariffs are going to play out, that’s what’s really driving this plummet in the stock prices.”
Gary Ng, senior economist for financial group Natixis, told AP: “Beyond the market meltdown, the bigger concern is the impact and potential crises for small and trade-dependent economies, so it’s crucial to see whether Trump will reach deals with most countries soon, at least partially.”
What Happens Next
Trump’s reciprocal tariffs affecting dozens of countries, including China, are scheduled to come into force on April 9. China’s 34 percent tariff on U.S. goods is scheduled for the following day.
