[White House officials confirm that the total US tariffs on China have reached 145%.] On the morning of the 10th Eastern Time, US media reported that White House officials clarified that the actual tariffs on China should be added to the 125% announced by Trump on the 9th, plus the additional 20% originally imposed due to fentanyl, bringing the total to 145%.
The "Trump Tariff Revolution" lasted for dozens of hours and made an abrupt U-turn under strong pressure from the stock market. On April 9th, the White House announced a temporary suspension of reciprocal tariffs on about sixty countries. In the eyes of observers, this revolution with a "pause" button is not a real revolution; it is a failure, a chaotic improvisation, even though its author denies this obvious fact.
The White House tries to explain the chaos caused by its irrational actions as a strategy, and Treasury Secretary Bessent is responsible for beautifying the president's actions, making Beijing the ideal scapegoat for causing global disruption: firstly, Beijing retaliates against Trump's tariffs in kind; secondly, attacking Beijing remains one of the few issues on which there is domestic consensus in the United States, giving Trump's major shift a veneer of rationality.
Bessent hinted that Trump intended to "lure the snake out of its hole," meaning that Trump imposed higher tariffs on China, which was met with retaliation, then imposed more tariffs, facing further retaliation, until he suspended reciprocal tariffs on all countries except China, raising the tariffs on China to 125%, plus the previous 20% tariff imposed under the pretext of fentanyl, accumulating a total of 145% on China, as if everything was planned in advance. Bessent's main purpose is to portray Trump as a leader skilled at playing the "big chess game."
Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1829055292940300/
Disclaimer: This article solely represents the author's personal views.