Trump threatens further tax enhance on Chinese imports as markets spiral amid commerce battle | EUROtoday

President Donald Trump on Monday threatened to slap an extra 50 p.c tax on Chinese imports after the Chinese authorities retaliated towards his newest unprovoked set of tariffs by asserting a reciprocal 34 p.c levy final week.

The transfer would make the efficient import tax price on Chinese items a whopping 104 p.c by including the 50 p.c levy on prime of the 34 p.c tax he introduced final week and the 20 p.c import tax price that had been in place till not too long ago.

Trump made the announcement in a put up on his Truth Social web site, writing that Beijing had ignored his vow to retaliate towards any nation that didn’t settle for his resolution to unilaterally tax imports based mostly on a made-up system that his advisers have stated treats any commerce deficit as concrete proof of unfair commerce practices.

“Yesterday, China issued Retaliatory Tariffs of 34%, on top of their already record setting Tariffs, Non-Monetary Tariffs, Illegal Subsidization of companies, and massive long term Currency Manipulation, despite my warning 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 wrote.

Trump added that he would due to this fact “impose ADDITIONAL Tariffs on China of 50%, effective April 9th” if China “does not withdraw its 34% increase above their already long term trading abuses by tomorrow” and introduced that “all talks with China concerning their requested meetings with us will be terminated” whereas negotiations with different international locations over his import tax will increase will proceed.

A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark from The Independent.

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The president’s newest threats come as inventory markets tumbled for the third consecutive buying and selling day following what Trump had dubbed “liberation day” — his announcement of wide-ranging import taxes as a part of what he has described as an effort to undo many years of globalization and reindustrialize a U.S. economic system that has turn out to be more and more dominated by companies and knowledge-based work in recent times.

The large sell-off had a quick respite round 10:30 a.m. ET on Monday after CNBC and social media influencers falsely reported that National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett stated Trump was contemplating a 90-day pause on tariffs for all international locations aside from China.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt instantly shot down the studies as “fake news” and the markets continued to plummet following her denial of any consideration of a pause on the import taxes, which Trump steadily and falsely claims shall be paid by international governments moderately than by importers who cross them alongside to customers within the type of larger costs.

The rumors appeared to stem from an interview Hassett gave on Fox News, throughout which he was requested if the administration would contemplate a 90-day pause as proposed by billionaire Bill Ackman.

“I think that the president is going to decide what the president is going to decide,” Hassett responded.

“I would urge everyone, especially Bill, to ease off the rhetoric a little bit,” he added.

The curler coaster Monday comes after the inventory market closed with a massacre Friday because the Dow Jones misplaced 2,231 factors and the S&P 500 dropped 6 p.c. As a outcome, final week marked the worst week for the inventory market since 2020, and solely the fourth time in historical past that the Dow misplaced 2,000 factors in a single day.

JPMorgan’s Chief Economist Bruce Kasman stated Friday the funding financial institution now sees a 60 p.c probability of the worldwide economic system coming into a recession in 2025, up from 40 p.c. The final time the rise in probability was that giant was in 1968 — and it was adopted by a recession, JPMorgan economists famous.

Despite these losses, Trump praised his personal tariff plan on Monday morning.

“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,” he wrote on Truth Social.

“The United States has a chance to do something that should have been done DECADES AGO,” he wrote in a later put up. “Don’t be Weak! Don’t be Stupid! Don’t be a PANICAN (A new party based on Weak and Stupid people!). Be Strong, Courageous, and Patient, and GREATNESS will be the result!”