China resolutely counters abusive U.S. tariffs: 34% tariffs on all U.S.-origin imports

“We do not stir up trouble, nor are we afraid of trouble, and pressure and threats are not the right way to deal with the Chinese side.” Xinhua News Agency released on the 5th “Chinese Government's Position on Opposing Abusive Tariffs by the United States” (hereinafter referred to as the “Position”) solemnly pointed out that, recently, the United States has announced the indiscriminate imposition of tariffs on all trading partners, including China, on various pretexts, which seriously infringes on the legitimate rights and interests of all countries, seriously violates the rules of the World Trade Organization, seriously undermines the multilateral trading system based on the rules and seriously impacts on the stability of the global economic order, and the Chinese government strongly condemns this. The Chinese government strongly condemns and resolutely opposes this. “China has taken and will continue to take resolute measures to safeguard its sovereignty, security and development interests.” On April 2, the U.S. announced “reciprocal tariffs” on all its trading partners, including a 34 percent “reciprocal tariff” on China, and on April 4, China fired 11 arrows. China's “11 arrows” were fired on the 4th of April, swiftly and resolutely countering the tariffs. According to the Irish Times, the scale of the Chinese government's response shows that they are ready for a brutal economic battle with Washington. In addition to China, Canadian Prime Minister Carney recently announced a reciprocal 25 percent tariff on U.S. cars. France is urging the European Union to target large USA tech companies through a digital services tax, while the United Kingdom is drawing up a list of products targeted by the United States that could be subject to retaliatory tariffs, according to US media reports. In an interview with the BBC, Canadian High Commissioner to the UK, Ralph Goodale, said that the actions taken by the US government are completely illogical, that the US will feel the pain, and that eventually Americans will convince their government to stop this foolishness.

U.S. media: China's counterattack is more comprehensive than before 

On April 2, U.S. President Donald Trump signed two executive orders on so-called “reciprocal tariffs” at the White House, announcing that the U.S. has set up a 10% “minimum baseline tariff” on its trading partners and has imposed higher tariffs on certain trading partners. The U.S. has also imposed higher tariffs on certain trading partners. Among these tariffs, the U.S. imposes a reciprocal tariff rate of 34% on China, 20% on the European Union, 10% on Brazil and the United Kingdom, 25% and 24% on South Korea and Japan respectively, and 32% and 36% on Indonesia and Thailand respectively.

The Chinese government strongly condemns and firmly opposes the tariff bullying by the United States. The Position states that openness and cooperation is the trend of history, and the world will never and should never retreat to a state of mutual closure and division. Mutual benefit and win-win is what the people want, and beggar-thy-neighbor economic bullying will eventually backfire on itself. “There are no winners in trade and tariff wars, and there is no way out for protectionism.” The Position states, “The world wants justice, not bullying!”

On April 4, the Chinese side “11 arrows fired”, the State Council Tariff and Taxation Commission, the Ministry of Commerce, the General Administration of Customs issued a number of countermeasures against the United States in a row, including the imposition of a 34% tariff on all imports originating in the United States from 12:01 a.m. on April 10, the prosecution of the U.S. side of the WTO dispute settlement mechanism under the relevant practices, the inclusion of a number of U.S. entities or enterprises in the export control controls. U.S. entities or enterprises on the export control control list or the list of unreliable entities, the implementation of export controls on items related to medium and heavy rare earths, as well as the suspension of two U.S. enterprises' poultry meat products, one enterprise's sorghum, and three enterprises' qualifications for the export of poultry meat and bone meal to China.

According to Bloomberg, the above rare earth-related measures are expected to have a broad impact on U.S. companies, as these rare earths are used in optical lasers, radar equipment, high-power magnets for wind turbines, jet engine coatings, communications and other advanced technologies.

CNN quoted Craig Singleton, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, as saying that Beijing is cracking down on politically sensitive sectors - agriculture, industrial goods, some rare earths, and new members of the “Unreliable Entities List” - while still maintaining its overall control of the country. members of the “Unreliable Entities List” - while still keeping its overall economy open. The latest US tariffs on Chinese goods are higher than many analysts expected and could fundamentally reshape the two countries' decades-long interdependence and about $500 billion in trade, according to the report. And China's counterattack has been more comprehensive than before.

British and French leaders: nothing is unworkable 

The U.S. government's tariff policy has also been opposed and countered by other countries around the globe. According to Reuters and Agence France-Presse, British Prime Minister Starmer said in an article in the Daily Telegraph on June 6 that “the world as we know it is over” and that the new world will be governed less by established rules and "more by deals and alliances. He is ready to intervene to help “protect” British businesses from the new US tariffs and has proposed state intervention in the worst affected sectors. The report mentioned that the UK released a 400-page list of US goods on February 2, or included it in any possible retaliatory tariff response.

In addition, the British Prime Minister's Office said on the 5th that Starmer spoke by phone with French President Macron on the same day, according to AFP. Both sides agreed that “a trade war is in no one's interest,” but that “nothing is off the table” after the U.S. imposed sweeping tariffs.

Trump's decision to raise tariffs could cost France more than 0.5 percent of its gross domestic product, French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Béroux said in an interview published in Le Parisien on 6. The French newspaper L'Echo reported on May 5, citing sources, that Macron wants a negotiated solution but is also prepared to take the option of targeting U.S. technology and services if necessary. For his part, outgoing German Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Habeck compared Trump's new tariff policy to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, saying that as a result “the scale and determination of the response must be comparable.”

However, Italy's Economy and Finance Minister Giorgetti and Spain's Economy, Trade and Enterprise Minister Cuerpo said at an event on May 5 not to respond too aggressively to the U.S. tariffs, Bloomberg reported. Bloomberg said this highlights the EU's differences on the issue.

U.S. neighbor Canada has announced countermeasures. 3, Canadian Prime Minister Carney announced at a news conference in Ottawa, the Canadian government will impose a 25% tariff on all U.S. imports of cars that do not comply with the “U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement”. Carney also said that Canada has filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization that the U.S. tariff measures violate international trade law.

According to Canada's “Globe and Mail” reported that Carney said on the campaign trail on the 5th, the United States in the new position on trade and the United Kingdom's ‘Brexit’ has similarities, the impact of tariffs on the United States, like the “Brexit” on the British economy, the same, it will take some time It will take some time for the impact of tariffs on the United States to be felt. As a former governor of the Bank of England, he said that experience had prepared him for the current trade war.

U.S. billionaires call for “stockpiling” 

Opposition also exists within the United States. According to the U.S. Axios news network reported, the U.S. Governor of California, Newsom said on the 4th, he is seeking to reach an agreement with other countries to ensure that California is not affected by Trump's escalation of the trade war incurred by the impact of countermeasures. The report quoted a statement from Newsom's office as saying that California's economy and workers rely heavily on trade with Mexico, Canada and China, and that countermeasures from those countries would have a “tremendous” impact on California businesses, farmers and ranchers.

According to the U.S. Consumer News and Business Channel 5 reported that a number of sources revealed that a group of prominent figures in the technology and financial industries intend to travel to Trump's Sea Lake estate in Florida “to have a common-sense discussion about his sweeping tariff policies.” Even Musk, Trump's billionaire ally, has said that Europe and the United States should move toward zero tariffs, Reuters reported.

The U.S. stock market fell sharply on the 4th due to the U.S. tariff policy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 5.5 percent, the S&P 500 plunged nearly 6 percent and the Nasdaq fell 5.8 percent, entering bear market territory. The Associated Press said it was the worst day for U.S. stocks since 2020, while the second-worst performance occurred on the 3rd. U.S. stocks fell heavily for the second day in a row, wiping out more than $5 trillion in market value, AFP said.

Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao newspaper said Trump admitted on April 4 that the tariffs had triggered a global shock, but also urged the American people to “hang in there”. However, some people have already begun to calculate the economic accounts. Reuters quoted analysts as saying that the cheapest iPhone 16 phone in the United States launched at $799. Given that most iPhones are made in China, the price could rise to $1,142 if Apple passes on the cost of the tariff to consumers. Billionaire Cuban, a well-known U.S. investor, urged people on social media platforms to start stocking up, “From toothpaste to soap, anything you can find a place to store should be bought while you can, preferably before the stores restock.”

Several media outlets argued that the broadest U.S. tariff policy to date could exacerbate trade tensions and disrupt the global economy. Trump's “reciprocal tariffs” statement has caused a plunge in world financial markets and heightened fears of a global recession, according to Britain's Guardian newspaper. Investment bank JP Morgan said it now expects the global economy to fall into recession by the end of the year is 60%, higher than the previously expected 40%.