Trump threatens to impose an additional 50% tariff on China

President Trump on Monday said the U.S. will apply an additional 50% tariff on imports from China if the Asian nation doesn’t withdraw its plan to impose a retaliatory 34% import fee on American products.

In a post on his Truth Social app, Mr. Trump said that “any country that Retaliates against the U.S. by issuing additional Tariffs, above and beyond their already existing long term Tariff abuse of our Nation, will be immediately met with new and substantially higher Tariffs, over and above those initially set.”

He added, “Therefore, if China does not withdraw its 34% increase above their already long term trading abuses by tomorrow, April 8th, 2025, the United States will impose ADDITIONAL Tariffs on China of 50%, effective April 9th.”

On April 2, Mr. Trump announced so-called reciprocal tariffs on imports from about 90 nations, adding to a 10% global tax applied to all products shipped to the U.S. Describing the announcement as “Liberation Day,” the president said the new taxes are needed to erase trade imbalances between the U.S. and other countries, ranging from China to members of the European Union. 

In response to Mr. Trump’s imposition of a 34% tariff on Chinese imports, which is set to go into effect on April 9, Beijing last week announced it would add a 34% tariff on imports of all U.S. products beginning April 10. 

Wall Street has been spooked by Mr. Trump’s growing trade war, with economists warning that the conflict could slam economic growth and even potentially trigger a recession. 

Because tariffs are paid by U.S. importers, they are typically passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices, increasing the likelihood that inflation will reignite this year.

—This is breaking news and will be updated.