Donald Trump Hits Back at Escalating China Trade War: ‘Economic Revolution’

President Donald Trump called his global tariff policy an “economic revolution” on Saturday, using his Truth Social platform to defend the sweeping trade moves that led China to announce retaliatory tariffs on Friday.

The president claimed that China “has been hit much harder than the USA” from the recently announced trade policies and urged Americans to “hang tough.”

Newsweek has reached out to several global trade experts and economists for comment via email on Saturday.

Why It Matters

Trump’s mid-week announcement included new tariffs on all imported goods from 180 countries as well as a list of “reciprocal duties” targeting China and other countries, with Asian nations most hard hit, claiming to combat trade imbalances and restore America’s manufacturing industry. He hailed the tariffs as the country’s “declaration of economic independence.”

China, the world’s second-largest economy, will face a 34 percent reciprocal tariff, which will start on April 9, and is in addition to a 20 percent tariff that is already in effect. The list claims that China charges a 67 percent tariff on U.S. products. On Friday, China announced the same retaliatory tariff on the U.S. at 34 percent.

Trump’s tariffs and shakeup of global trade has rattled global and domestic markets, with Wall Street tanking over the past few days, marking the worst days for the U.S. stock markets since 2020.

What To Know

Trump’s universal, baseline 10 percent tariffs went into effect early Saturday. Announced April 2—which Trump dubbed “Liberation Day”—the tariffs have triggered market turmoil and drawn sharp criticism from world leaders who have also responded with retaliatory tariffs.

Meanwhile, many Americans, including some Republicans, have voiced concerns over the state of the economy following Trump’s sweeping tariffs.

By market close on Friday, the S&P 500 index was down nearly 6 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 5.5 percent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index lost 5.82 percent. Trump has insisted that markets will “boom” as a result of his trade war.

In a Saturday Truth Social post, Trump claimed that “China has been hit much harder than the USA, not even close.” He said the U.S. has “been the dumb and helpless ‘whipping post,’ but not any longer,” suggesting that the tariffs and disruption to global trade will boost American manufacturing and spur business growth.

Federal data shows the U.S. total goods trade with China was worth an estimated $582.4 billion in 2024. U.S. imports from China far outweigh exports to it, the kind of trade deficit that sits in the center of Trump’s criticism of existing American trading relationships.

The president wrote, “Already, more than FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS OF INVESTMENT, and rising fast!” It is unclear what investment Trump is referring to, but since his Wednesday announcement over $5 trillion has been erased from the U.S. stock markets.

His post concluded: “THIS IS AN ECONOMIC REVOLUTION, AND WE WILL WIN. HANG TOUGH, it won’t be easy, but the end result will be historic. We will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”

Concerns over a potential recession and rising economic hardship are growing among Americans. Even before the recent stock market tumble, a majority of Americans believed the country was headed for a recession within the year, according to a poll by Ipsos that was published on Wednesday.

The survey conducted between March 25-26 among 1,085 adults found that 61 percent of respondents expect the U.S. to enter a recession within the next 12 months. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 5.1 percentage points.

On Friday, Trump posted that China “played it wrong” by announcing reciprocal tariffs. However, in another post he indicated that he looks “forward to working with TikTok and China to close the Deal.”

TikTok, a popular video-sharing application owned by the China-based company ByteDance, has faced significant legal and regulatory challenges in the U.S., with a looming ban that was set to go into effect on April 5, but Trump has pushed it another 75 days.

What People Are Saying

The Chinese finance ministry said on Friday: “This practice of the U.S. is not in line with international trade rules, undermines China’s legitimate rights and interests, and is a typical unilateral bullying practice.”

Scott Kennedy, senior adviser and trustee chair in Chinese Business and Economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), told Newsweek in an email earlier this week: “Their [Asian countries’] growing role in the global economy historically has been seen as an important source of their economic development as well as a foundation for stronger ties with the United States. The Trump administration, instead, sees these countries as aggressors and itself as a victim in these relationships.”

Yun Sun, director of the China Program at the Stimson Center, told Newsweek earlier this week: “China is already reaching out to U.S. allies such as Japan, ROK [South Korea] and European countries to explore the alternative global order without U.S. as its leader. The reciprocal tariffs will give these countries a big push toward China to at least prepare alternatives. With the harsh policy of U.S., China suddenly looks much less hostile or evil.”

Representative Don Bacon, a Nebraska Republican, told Newsweek on Friday: “Nebraskans want free trade agreements, not trade animosity.”

Senator Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, said on the Senate floor Wednesday: “The price hikes that will happen for Maine families—every time they go to the grocery store, they fill their gas tank, they fill their heating oil tank—if these tariffs go into effect will be so harmful. And as price hikes always do, they will hurt those the most who can afford them the least.”

What Happens Next?

The 10 percent “baseline” tariff on all imports took effect Saturday, and the “discounted reciprocal” tariffs targeting America’s largest trading partners are set to begin on April 9.

China’s 34 percent tariffs on U.S. products will go into effect on Thursday.