The United States will impose a 104% tariff on Chinese goods today.
According to The Guardian, US officials announced that starting from midnight local time today, the United States will impose a 104% tariff on goods coming from China. In response, China has refused to revoke its countermeasures of imposing additional tariffs on American goods and stated that it will "fight to the end" with the United States. As a result, the report points out that this means that a full-scale trade war between the two countries may break out. UK Chancellor Reeves also expressed yesterday that a trade war benefits no one, and confirmed that the UK is seeking to reach new agreements with the United States. Additionally, Asian and European stock markets, which had experienced three consecutive days of sharp declines, began to rebound yesterday. Japan's Nikkei index rose by 6%, the London FTSE index increased by 2.7%, and Germany and France's stock market gains reached 2.5%.
The i also reported that after the US government confirmed that it would impose a 104% tariff on goods from China starting today, the US stock market immediately turned from rising to falling. Meanwhile, 70 countries have proactively proposed negotiations with the United States. For this reason, White House officials claimed that China wants to strike a deal with the United States but does not know how to conduct negotiations. At the same time, the British government is also seeking an agreement with the United States in hopes of avoiding being affected by the additional tariffs imposed by the United States. UK Prime Minister Starmer is preparing to propose revisions to cybersecurity laws and suspend taxes on American technology companies as conditions for negotiations with the U.S. However, Wall Street bankers and hedge fund managers in the United States warned that President Trump's tariff measures could also have adverse effects on the US economy. Meanwhile, divisions are beginning to emerge within Trump's supporters regarding the issue of tariffs.
Daily Telegraph reported that American tech tycoon Musk publicly mocked Trump's trade advisor Navarro, calling him "dumber than bricks," showing the growing rift within the White House over the issue of tariffs. The report revealed that previously, Navarro described Tesla, owned by Musk, as not a "manufacturer" but merely an "assembly plant." Subsequently, Musk retaliated by calling Navarro a "moron." Navarro had also claimed that Musk only uses cheap foreign parts. In response, Musk rebutted that Navarro's remarks were "false" because Tesla is a car made with mostly American parts. White House press secretary Lettow attempted to downplay the dispute between Musk and Navarro at yesterday's press conference. She stated that this was merely a reflection of their differing opinions on trade and tariffs. But men will be men, so they will continue to express their views openly, which reflects the transparency of the Trump administration's foreign policy.
Financial Times reported that President Trump will implement the highest import tariffs in over 100 years on one of America's largest trading partners - China, starting today. China has vowed to "fight to the end," while Trump has opened the door for negotiations with other countries. He first announced on Monday that he would begin talks with Japan to seek an agreement to resolve commercial disputes between them. He then stated yesterday that he might reach a reconciliation agreement with South Korea. The report pointed out that all this makes market investors feel that the damage of US tariff measures to the global economy can be alleviated. EU Commission President von der Leyen yesterday stated that the EU should cooperate with China to bring "stability and predictability" to the world economy. Therefore, the report points out that this reflects the EU's change in its trade alliance strategy. The EU Commission also revealed that von der Leyen spoke on the phone with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and discussed ways to gradually shift their trade flows away from the US market to others.
Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1828876293797955/
Disclaimer: This article solely represents the author's personal views.