According to the Ministry of Commerce website, on April 15 Eastern Time, the White House website released a fact sheet about the Section 232 investigation on critical minerals and derived products, mentioning that due to China's retaliatory measures against the US "reciprocal tariffs", Chinese exports to the United States now face up to 245% tariffs.

In response, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce stated that China has noticed that the cumulative tariffs on some exported goods to the US have reached up to 245%. This fully exposes the fact that the US has taken the tariff tool to an irrational extreme.

The spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce stated that China has repeatedly expressed its position on the US unilateral tariff increase. For such meaningless tariff number games by the US side, China will not respond. However, if the US side insists on continuing to substantially infringe upon China's rights and interests, China will firmly counterattack and see it through to the end.

So-called "245%"

On local time 15th, the White House website released a fact sheet regarding Section 232 provisions (fact sheet), which mentioned, "China is now facing tariffs as high as up to 245% (up to a 245% tariff) on imports into the United States."

Several experts and trade practitioners interviewed by Yicai Global explained to reporters that this 245% is not a new tax rate, but rather the highest tariff that certain Chinese products exported to the US can reach is 245%.

A senior figure in the economic and trade legal circle told Yicai Global that from the context, there is no implication of adding another 245% in this article. "Up to" means that the maximum can reach, and if the US side wants to impose additional tariffs, the wording would not be like this. A formal administrative order must be issued, with relevant documents in the Federal Register, detailing issues such as the effective starting date of the tariff. Currently, this is just a "fact sheet".

Roger, who has long been engaged in US-bound logistics transportation in the US, explained to Yicai Global that the meaning is that the highest tariff for certain Chinese products is 245%, not that all Chinese products' tariffs are added up to 245%.

"If that were the case, it wouldn't be phrased like this, and the effective date would be clearly written. As of noon on the 16th in China time, no American media has reported on this," he explained to reporters. Previously, some media had analyzed the tariffs on certain Chinese goods. In this analysis, it was mentioned that China faces a 245% tariff on exports such as syringes to the US.

According to CCTV News, at the regular press conference on the 16th, a reporter asked, the US White House website latest statement said that due to China's retaliatory measures, US tariffs on China have increased to 245%.

In response, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian stated that the specific tax rate figures can be asked of the US side. China has repeatedly made clear its firm stance on the issue of tariffs. The tariff war initiated by the US side is unreasonable, and China's necessary countermeasures are to uphold its legitimate rights and interests and international fairness and justice, which is entirely reasonable and lawful. There is no winner in a tariff war or a trade war. China does not want to engage in one, but it is also determined not to back down.

The US side has arbitrarily raised unilateral tariffs.

According to information on the Ministry of Finance's website, on April 10, 2025, the US government announced that the rate of "reciprocal tariffs" on Chinese exports to the US would be further increased to 125%.

The spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce stated that on Eastern Time April 10, the US side announced an executive order, further increasing the "reciprocal tariffs" on Chinese products. We have noticed that the tax rate published in the US executive order for Chinese products is 41%, which is 20 percentage points higher than the originally claimed tariff rate by the US side. China firmly opposes and strongly condemns the US side's arbitrary unilateral tariff measures and has taken resolute countermeasures to safeguard its own rights and interests.

The spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce also stated that the US side's repeated imposition of disproportionately high tariffs on China has already become a numerical game without any practical significance economically. It only further exposes the US side's practice of weaponizing tariffs, engaging in bullying coercion, and becoming a laughingstock. If the US side continues with this numerical game of tariffs, China will not respond. However, if the US side insists on substantively infringing upon China's rights and interests, China will firmly retaliate and see it through to the end.

Subsequently, according to the Ministry of Commerce, on April 12 Eastern Time, the US side published a memorandum, exempting "reciprocal tariffs" on certain products such as computers, smartphones, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and integrated circuits. China is currently assessing the impact of these measures.

The spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce stated that we have noticed that this is the second adjustment to the policy after the US side postponed imposing high "reciprocal tariffs" on certain trading partners on April 10. This should be seen as a small step by the US side in correcting its erroneous practice of unilateral "reciprocal tariffs".

(This article comes from Yicai Global)

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7493899552643187237/

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