The White House said last Tuesday (15) that China now faces a tariff of up to 245% on imports to the US “as a result of its retaliatory actions”, another climb in the trade war between the two largest economies in the world.
The maximum potential tariff is higher than the 145% previously stated and was mentioned in a newsletter published by the White House the night of the day before. The document, however, does not explain how the US has reached the calculation of the rate that will be applied to Chinese products.
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The fare followed an executive order signed by President Donald Trump who launched an investigation into the “risks to national security represented by US dependence on imported and derivative essential minerals.”
The US and China trade war is shaking global markets, which fear the economic consequences of Trump’s conflict against US business partners.
Cutting Chinese imports complicates US supply chains, increasing costs and forcing companies to fuel from other places. Consumers also face higher prices. Trump’s strategy is to use tariffs to attract more industrial investments to the US.
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For many Chinese exporters, almost loss of the US market is a severe blow, and they will have to grow in other markets to compensate for loss, such as the European Union (EU).
The Trump government, however, is increasing the pressure on China and wants its business partners to choose between Beijing and Washington.
Trump imposed a 10% rate on imports from all countries. He temporarily suspended additional “reciprocal” rates defined individually, depending on the commercial barriers faced by the US, to give time to new agreements negotiations.
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The exception to this pause is China, which faces increasingly high rates from the US and responded in the same coin, among other contracted.
This week, China imposed more rare land export controls, which include materials used in high -tech products, aerospace industry and the defense industry.
The Trump government warned countries not to retaliate against their fares and would be rewarded for it.
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It is noteworthy that China announced on Wednesday (16) the appointment of a new high -ranking commercial negotiator, Li Chenggang, who will be the probable interlocutor in the negotiations Beijing hopes to start with Washington. US President Donald Trump said in a statement that “China needs to close a deal with us.”
Li has been China’s ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO) since 2021 – an organization that has become practically powerless to resolve business disputes from Trump’s first term – and holds a law graduate from the University of Beijing.
(With Estadão Content and International Agencies)