China has escalated its trade dispute with the United States. It raised tariffs on American products to 125%, up from 84%, in response to President Donald Trump’s reciprocal duties.
The announcement made by the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council on Friday marks a new high in the tit for tat trade war that has battered the global markets and dampened hope for a negotiated solution.
According to a CNBC translated statement, “Even if US continues to increase tariffs, it won’t make economic sense, and will become a laughingstock in the history of the world economy.”
Beijing officials also declared that, with tariffs of this level, there is no longer a market in China for US imports.
They warned that any further US actions will be ignored.
The Trump administration confirmed earlier that US tariffs against Chinese imports now total an effective rate of 145%. This further intensified the standoff.
“There are no losers in a trade conflict, and going against other countries will only lead to your own isolation,” Xi said to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Friday in Beijing, according to the state broadcaster CCTV.
China calls US economic bullying measures “economic bullying”
Separately, China’s Ministry of Commerce released a strongly worded criticism of Washington’s approach, describing US Tariff actions as “typical unilateral bullying” and a serious violation of World Trade Organization rules (WTO).
Beijing has filed a new complaint with the WTO regarding the latest round of US tariff increases.
A spokesperson for the ministry said: “We urge the US immediately to correct its wrong practices, and cancel all unilateral measures against China.” This statement underlines Beijing’s increasingly hard-line stance.
Chinese officials have accused the Trump administration repeatedly of escalating tensions to achieve domestic political gains.
In a Friday statement, a spokesperson from China’s Commerce Ministry stated that “the successive imposition by the US of excessively high duties on China has become nothing more than an economic numbers game with no real significance.”
Hopes of a resolution fade as China and the US dig in their heels
The prospects of a breakthrough between the US and China in trade talks have all but disappeared, as both sides are preparing for what is increasingly looking like a long-term economic conflict.
In an interview with Fox Business, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that “it’s unfortunate that they don’t actually want to come and negociate because they are the most serious offenders in the global trading system.”
He criticised Beijing and argued that China’s economic structure remains dangerously unbalanced.
Beijing has also made it clear that it will not backtrack. According to Reuters the Chinese commerce minister reaffirmed China’s determination to protect its interests by “resolute countermeasures.”
European markets give up their morning gains
The latest escalation has rattled European markets and erased early gains.
In morning trading, the FTSE 100 fell 0.048%, Germany’s DAX fell 0.61% and France’s CAC40 lost 0.45%.
Goldman Sachs, an investment bank, cut its forecast of China’s GDP growth in 2025 to 4% on Thursday. It cited trade tensions and weaker global demand as the reasons.
Goldman analysts estimate between 10 and 20 million Chinese jobs to be linked to these shipments. This highlights the wider economic risks.
The world’s largest economies are locked in a bitter standoff as the rhetoric intensifies and the retaliatory actions increase. There is no way out.
This post China strikes with 125% tariffs against US imports amid deepening Trade War may be modified as new developments unfold.
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