China Retaliates with 125% Tarrifs on American Imports, Dismisses Trump’s Trade Moves as “Meaningless Numbers”
China’s Ministry of Finance announced on Friday that it will raise retaliatory tariffs on all U.S. imports from their current 84 percent level to 125 percent, starting April 12.
The move is in direct retaliation for President Trump’s recent hike of U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods to 145 percent this year.
In a statement, Beijing called Washington’s tariff increases a “numbers game” with no real economic content and a tool of “bullying and coercion,” and said that any further U.S. tariffs would be ignored as “economically meaningless.”.
This intensification follows a series of U.S. measures since early 2025, when the Trump administration raised baseline tariffs on Chinese exports to historic levels.
China’s response signals its determination not to yield, even while it states that it is still willing to negotiate “on the basis of mutual respect.”
Beijing’s latest tariffs will target major U.S. exports including soybeans, pork, liquefied natural gas, and aircraft parts. The government has also proposed other forms of retaliation—export limits on strategic minerals, blacklisting some foreign companies, and even selling off a portion of its $761 billion holdings of U.S. Treasury bonds.
Global markets reacted strongly to the news. U.S. stock futures fell, the dollar fell to multi‑year lows against major currencies, and investors stampeded into safe‑haven assets such as gold and government bonds amid fears of a protracted trade war.
China has also formally complained to the World Trade Organization, challenging the legality of the U.S. moves.
But Beijing is not going to raise tariffs further, as U.S. goods are already effectively shut out of the Chinese market at current levels.
Analysts have warned that extended high tariffs from both sides risk huge disruption to global supply chains and higher costs to consumers and producers worldwide. They are urging both governments to return to the negotiating table before the trade war inflicts additional economic damage.
