SINGAPORE/SHENZHEN – Beijing has vowed to take countermeasures against the latest United States tariffs and urged Washington to resolve trade frictions through dialogue.
US President Donald Trump upped the stakes in the trade war with China on April 2 (April 3 SGT) by announcing an additional 34 per cent reciprocal tariffs on Chinese goods and the end of duty-free exemption for low-value imports from China. The new duties come on top of the existing additional 20 per cent tariff slapped on China in February and March.
On April 3, a Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesperson criticised the latest US tariffs as being based on “subjective and unilateral assessments” by the US. They are not in line with international trade rules and constitute “a typical practice of unilateral bullying”.
“History has proved that raising tariffs will not solve the US’s own problems, and will not only harm its own interests, but also jeopardise the development of the global economy and the stability of the production and supply chain,” said the spokesperson.
The ministry urged the US to immediately remove the tariffs and resolve its differences with its trading partners through dialogue on an equal footing.
Analysts said trade dynamics between the world’s two largest economies are still in flux, as negotiations – and retaliatory actions – unfold.
“I think this 34 per cent rate may change later. Trump and China would want to negotiate further. Depending on which side has the upper hand, the rate can go up or down,” Professor Henry Gao, an international trade expert at Singapore Management University, told The Straits Times.
He calculated that the total US tax rate on Chinese imports comes up to 79 per cent, after taking into account existing tariffs going back to the first Trump administration, and not counting exemptions for certain goods.
Prof Gao estimated that Mr Trump had imposed roughly 25 per cent tariffs on Chinese goods during his first term from 2017 to 2021. The Joe Biden administration that came after him had maintained these tariffs.
Mr Stephen Olson, a former US trade negotiator and visiting senior fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore said of the latest tariffs: “This is not the end game – it’s just the opening steps in what will be a protracted dance.”
Dr Zhang Zhiwei, president of hedge fund company Pinpoint Asset Management in Hong Kong expects China to retaliate soon. “The risk to China’s exports is higher than (what) the market expected,” he said.
In a dramatic escalation of the trade war, Mr Trump announced on April 2 or what he dubbed as “Liberation Day”, a sweeping baseline tariff of 10 per cent on imports from all countries and reciprocal tariffs on imports from 60 countries with trade imbalances with the US.
China, which has the largest trade surplus of US$295 billion (S$396 billion) in 2024 with the US, will be hit with a 34 per cent reciprocal tariff, set to take effect from April 9, on top of the additional 20 per cent tariff imposed earlier in 2025.
Certain types of Chinese goods, such as solar panels, automobiles and steel, are already subject to additional goods-specific tax.
Mr Trump also signed an order to end a duty-free exemption for low-value imports from China under US$800 from May 2, on which Chinese e-commerce platforms such as Shein and Temu have thrived. This is meant to counter what he said is “the ongoing health emergency posed by the illicit flow of synthetic opioids into the US”.
Mr Trump has described the latest tariffs as “nicer, kinder” as they are half of what the US calculated as the tariffs these countries levy on US goods, which in China’s case is 67 per cent.
Mr Olson said he expects China to respond with “forceful but proportionate countermeasures”, which could include tariffs and other measures that can make life more difficult for US companies that depend on the China market.
“Ultimately, the US and China are headed for the negotiating table where they’ll try to reach some type of a grand bargain on a wide range of issues. But that won’t necessarily happen soon and I expect things to get worse before they get better,” he said.
- Yew Lun Tian is a senior foreign correspondent who covers China for The Straits Times.
- Joyce ZK Lim is The Straits Times’ China correspondent, based in Shenzhen.
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