US President Donald Trump has reaffirmed his commitment to the extensive tariffs he imposed on various countries globally, asserting that his “economic revolution” will produce unprecedented outcomes for Americans.
“STAY RESILIENT, it won’t be easy, but the ultimate result will be historic,” Mr. Trump stated in a post on his Truth Social platform, insisting that his economic strategies are “reviving jobs and businesses like never before.”
His remarks follow China’s declaration that “the market has spoken” in rejecting Mr. Trump’s tariffs, urging the US for “equitable consultations” following a significant drop in global markets in response to the trade measures that had provoked retaliation from China.
The state-operated Xinhua news agency also published a statement from the Chinese government, emphasizing that the US should “cease using tariffs as a tool to suppress China’s economy and trade.”
Mr. Trump implemented additional tariffs of 34% on Chinese goods as part of severe levies imposed on most US trade partners, bringing the total tariffs on China this year to 54%.
Mr. Trump also closed a trade loophole that had permitted low-value packages from China to enter the US without duties.
The tariff announcement on Wednesday led to a loss of €4.5 trillion in stock market value for S&P 500 companies.
This prompted a retaliatory response from China yesterday, which included imposing extra levies of 34% on all US goods and restricting exports of certain rare earth elements, intensifying the trade conflict between the two largest economies in the world.
Following China’s response and Mr. Trump’s comments yesterday indicating he would not change his plans, global stock markets fell sharply, extending losses that began with Mr. Trump’s initial tariff announcement earlier in the week, marking the most significant declines since the pandemic.
For the week, the S&P 500 recorded a 9% drop.
“Now is the time for the US to cease the wrong practices and resolve differences with trading partners through equitable discussions,” Mr. Guo wrote in English on Facebook.
In a separate statement released by the state-run Xinhua news agency, the Chinese government urged the US to “stop employing tariffs as a weapon to undermine China’s economy and trade, and cease undermining the legitimate development rights of the Chinese populace.”
“China has taken and will continue to take resolute actions to protect its sovereignty, security, and development interests,” the government stated.
Washington’s approach “seriously undermines the rules-based multilateral trading system and severely affects the stability of the global economic order,” it added.
China’s chamber of commerce, representing traders in food products, has called on “China’s food and agricultural products import and export industry to unite and strengthen cooperation to jointly explore domestic and foreign markets.”
Donald Trump’s tariff announcement has pushed the Nasdaq towards a bear market.
US customs officials have begun collecting Mr. Trump’s unilateral 10% tariff on all imports from several countries, with higher tariffs on goods from 57 major trading partners set to begin next week.
The initial 10% “baseline” tariff became effective at US ports, airports, and customs warehouses at 12:01 AM local time (5:01 AM Irish time), marking Mr. Trump’s full rejection of the post-WWII system of mutually agreed tariff rates.
“This represents the most significant trade action of our lifetime,” stated Kelly Ann Shaw, a trade lawyer at Hogan Lovells and former White House trade advisor during Mr. Trump’s first term.
Ms. Shaw mentioned during a Brookings Institution event on Thursday that she anticipates the tariffs will evolve over time as countries seek to negotiate lower rates. “But this is substantial. This marks a considerable and significant shift in the manner we trade with every nation on the planet,” she added.
Mr. Trump’s tariff announcement on Wednesday sent shockwaves through global stock markets, erasing €4.5 trillion in stock market value for S&P 500 companies by the close of trading yesterday, setting a record for a decline over two days.
Prices for oil and commodities plunged, while investors flocked to the safety of government bonds.
Among the countries initially impacted by the 10% tariff are Australia, Britain, Colombia, Argentina, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.
A US Customs and Border Protection bulletin to shippers indicated no grace period for cargoes already on the water at midnight.
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However, a US Customs and Border Protection bulletin provided a 51-day grace period for cargoes that were loaded onto vessels or planes and in transit to the US before 12:01 AM local time.
These cargoes must arrive by 12:01 AM local time on May 27 to avoid the 10% duty.
At the same hour on Wednesday, Mr. Trump’s higher “reciprocal” tariff rates of 11% to 50% are expected to take effect.
Donald Trump had previously proposed a 25% tariff on imported vehicles.
Imports from the European Union will face a 20% tariff.
Vietnam, which gained from the shift of US supply chains away from China after Mr. Trump’s first-term trade conflict with China, will face a 46% tariff and agreed yesterday to discuss a deal with Mr. Trump.
Canada and Mexico are exempt from Mr. Trump’s latest duties due to their ongoing exemption from a 25% tariff related to the US fentanyl crisis for goods that do not comply with the US-Mexico-Canada rules of origin.
Mr. Trump is excluding goods subject to separate, 25% national security tariffs, including steel and aluminum, cars, trucks, and auto parts.
His administration also released a list of over 1,000 product categories that are exempt from the tariffs.
Valued at €588 billion in 2024 imports, these exemptions include crude oil, petroleum products and other energy imports, pharmaceuticals, uranium, titanium, lumber, semiconductors, and copper.
Except for energy, the Trump administration is investigating several of these sectors for potential additional national security tariffs.
Meanwhile, Tánaiste Simon Harris is scheduled to visit the US next week for a meeting with Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick.
The meeting is expected to occur on Wednesday.
The two previously spoke on the phone in recent days to discuss the reciprocal nature of the trading relationship between the countries.
