Donald Trump’s across-the-board tariffs have had a disastrous rollout, with the stock market plunging for the last two days, members of his own party raising hackles, and credible reports emerging that the tariffs may have been designed using ChatGPT.
But now, China has retaliated, meaning that the full-on trade war Trump has claimed to want for years is finally upon us.
Donald Trump’s Trade War and Tariffs: Looking Like a Loser
Per CNN, China will impose reciprocal 34 percent tariffs, set to go into effect on April 10. This is in retaliation for the additional 34 percent tariffs, on top of the ones already announced, placed by Trump on China.
“This practice of the US is not in line with international trade rules, seriously undermines China’s legitimate rights and interests, and is a typical unilateral bullying practice,” China’s State Council Tariff Commission said in a statement Friday.
China’s Finance Ministry, meanwhile, called on the U.S. to “immediately cancel its unilateral tariff measures and resolve trade differences through consultation.” And China filed a formal complaint with the World Trade Organization.
China also added 11 American companies to its “unreliable entity list,” including drone manufacturers Skydio and BRINC Drones, which China accused of cooperation with Taiwan. Sixteen other U.S. companies were added to China’s “export control list.”
Trump has claimed the China tariffs are aimed at reducing the flow of fentanyl into the country, although a more likely immediate effect will likely be things getting a great deal more expensive, very quickly, for American consumers.
Trump vs. China
Trump reacted to the retaliation by declaring, on Truth Social Friday morning, that “CHINA PLAYED IT WRONG, THEY PANICKED – THE ONE THING THEY CANNOT AFFORD TO DO!”
It’s part of a complex and often contentious relationship that Trump has had with China, going back to his first run for president.
In 2016, during his first run for president, Trump accused China of “raping” the U.S. with its trade policies.
During his first term as president, according to an Axios analysis published shortly after he left office, the Trump Administration’s China policies sometimes went on two different tracks: The policies pursued by Trump, and those pushed by aides with direct China expertise.
Trump put tariffs on China in place when he first arrived in office in 2017, and kept them there, although they weren’t nearly as significant as the ones introduced this week.
While Mike Pompeo, who became secretary of state in the latter part of Trump’s first term, was accusing China of pursuing “international domination,” Trump began talking around the same time about pursuing a trade deal with China. That Phase One trade deal was agreed to in January of 2020.
And Then Came COVID
Of course, relations between the U.S. and China changed drastically early in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began in China and soon spread across the world.
While Trump at first praised President Xi and his handling of the pandemic in the early going, he eventually took a more hostile tone and started referring to COVID as “the China virus.” He spent his last year in office taking dozens of actions against China, from sanctions to executive orders to travel restrictions to indictments and arrests.
Now that Trump is back in office, the hostile posture towards China has returned, setting the stage for the back-and-forth tariffs this week.
How’s It Going to End?
The question on the minds of many is, are the tariffs in place to provide leverage, or are they tariffs for the sake of having tariffs?
Donald Trump. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Trump said this week, before China retaliated, that he was open to negotiations, even after several White House aides and others in the administration had spent the day giving interviews stating the opposite.
But on Friday morning, after the retaliation, the president took to Truth Social again, declaring, once again in all caps, that “TO THE MANY INVESTORS COMING INTO THE UNITED STATES AND INVESTING MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF MONEY, MY POLICIES WILL NEVER CHANGE.”
About the Author: Stephen Silver
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter
