United States (US) President Donald Trump continued his trend of issuing decrees via social media on Monday, lashing out over China's tit-for-tat tariff retaliation last week. President Trump issued an Executive Order placing a 34% "reciprocal" tariff on all Chinese goods imported into the US last Wednesday, prompting a retaliatory 34% counter-tariff from China.
The new 50% tariff, which will be cumulative alongside the US's 10% across-the-board tariffs and targeted 34% "reciprocal" tariffs, is set to come into effect on Wednesday, April 9. If the Trump administration is successful in placing additional tariffs on short notice, US consumers could be facing import taxes of over 100% on Chinese goods.
(This story was corrected on April 8 at 12:19 GMT to say that tariffs are set to come into effect on Wednesday, April 9, not Tuesday, April 8.)
Tariffs FAQs
Tariffs are customs duties levied on certain merchandise imports or a category of products. Tariffs are designed to help local producers and manufacturers be more competitive in the market by providing a price advantage over similar goods that can be imported. Tariffs are widely used as tools of protectionism, along with trade barriers and import quotas.
Although tariffs and taxes both generate government revenue to fund public goods and services, they have several distinctions. Tariffs are prepaid at the port of entry, while taxes are paid at the time of purchase. Taxes are imposed on individual taxpayers and businesses, while tariffs are paid by importers.
There are two schools of thought among economists regarding the usage of tariffs. While some argue that tariffs are necessary to protect domestic industries and address trade imbalances, others see them as a harmful tool that could potentially drive prices higher over the long term and lead to a damaging trade war by encouraging tit-for-tat tariffs.
During the run-up to the presidential election in November 2024, Donald Trump made it clear that he intends to use tariffs to support the US economy and American producers. In 2024, Mexico, China and Canada accounted for 42% of total US imports. In this period, Mexico stood out as the top exporter with $466.6 billion, according to the US Census Bureau. Hence, Trump wants to focus on these three nations when imposing tariffs. He also plans to use the revenue generated through tariffs to lower personal income taxes.
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