China raises tariffs on US goods from 84% to 125%, finance ministry says – business live
China raises tariffs on US goods to 125%
BREAKING: China has announced additional tariffs on US goods to 125%, according to Reuters.
That is up from the previous level of 84%.
China’s finance ministry is reported as saying that if the US insists on continuing to infringe upon China’s interest in a substantive way, China will resolutely take countermeasures and fight to the end.
Key events
The EU’s trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic is heading to Washington this weekend “to try and sign deals” with the Trump administration.
European Commission trade spokesperson Olof Gill told Ireland’s RTE radio:
The trade commissioner is gong to Washington to try and sign deals. That is what we are focused on.
However, he suggested the EU are not ruling out further retaliation if talks turn sour:
All options are on the table should that not lead to a good outcome.
JD.com, one of China’s biggest online retailers, is ramping up subsidies to help businesses pivot towards the domestic Chinese market.
The e-commerce giant has announced that it will launch a 200 billion yuan fund (£20.8bn) to help exporters sell their products domestically, in reaction to the intensifying US-China trade war, Reuters reports.
JD.com shares have taken a hit as a result of Trumps tariff announcements, with its stock down 10.6% for the month.
US stock futures fall into negative territory
US futures are pointing to a negative start for all the major indexes on Wall Street this afternoon, amid the escalating trade war.
S&P futures are down 0.75%, Dow futures are down 0.77% and Nasdaq futures are down 0.8%.
Helen Davidson
China has raised its tariffs on US products to 125% in the latest salvo of the trade dispute with Washington, just hours after Xi Jinping said there were “no winners in a tariff war”.
Xi made the comments during a meeting with the Spanish prime minister in which he invited the EU to work with China to resist “bullying”, part of an apparent campaign to shore up other trading partners.
The Chinese commerce ministry announced on Friday that it was raising the 84% tariffs on all US imports to 125%, again saying that China was ready to “fight to the end”.
The statement also suggested it may be Beijing’s last move in the tit-for-tat tariff raises as “at the current tariff level, there is no market acceptance for US goods exported to China”.
“If the US continues to impose tariffs on Chinese goods exported to the US, China will ignore it,” it said, flagging that there were other countermeasures to come.
Chinese officials have been canvassing other trading partners about how to deal with the US tariffs, after the country was excluded from Trump’s 90-day pause of the steepest global tariffs.
Instead the US president made consecutive increases to duties on Chinese imports, which are now 145%.
Read the full story here:
US dollar falls to three-year low
The US dollar has suffered a further blow as a result of Beijing’s 125% tariff announcement.
The US dollar index is now down 1.2% at 99.50, marking its lowest level since April 2022.
The relief rally this morning was certainly short-lived.
Here’s how the major European stock indexes are trading following latest escalation in the US-China trade war:
European markets are now predominantly in the red, as investors digest Beijing’s latest tariff announcement.
Chinese ministers are admonishing the US, calling for reversals from the Trump administration and declaring the Beijing will not back down, according to comments reported by Reuters:
China’s commerce minister has said that that the country firmly opposes and condemns the US’ wanton unilateral tariff measures, and has taken resolute countermeasures to safeguard its own rights and interest.
They’ve also said that the US’ repeated imposition of abnormally high tariffs has become a “numbers game” and has no practical economic significance. The ministry has urged the US to take a big step in cancelling the so-called ‘reciprocal tariffs’ and completely correct its wrongful practices.
China raises tariffs on US goods to 125%
BREAKING: China has announced additional tariffs on US goods to 125%, according to Reuters.
That is up from the previous level of 84%.
China’s finance ministry is reported as saying that if the US insists on continuing to infringe upon China’s interest in a substantive way, China will resolutely take countermeasures and fight to the end.
Optimism across European markets wanes
The pan-European Stoxx 600 has reversed earlier gains, and is now trading lower by 0.06% so far this session.
And despite its earlier spike, Italy’s MIB is now also in the red, down about 0.3%.
Those that are still in positive territory are also paring their gains, including the FTSE 100, which is now up just 0.15%.
Germany’s Xetra Dax is up 0.3%, and while France’s Cac is still holding the strongest gains at 0.8% – that is down from its 1% rise at the open.
UK toymaker Character Group – which is behind popular toys from brands like Peppa Pig, Teletubbies and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – is pulling its annual forecasts amid uncertainty over the impact of the Trump administration’s now-145% tariff on imports from China.
US sales accounted for around 20% of the company’s turnover last year. In a market announcement this morning, Character Group said:
The recent unilateral imposition by the USA of trade tariffs on imports, particularly from China, and the escalating retaliatory measures being adopted have greatly impacted global economic stability in a very short space of time.
Character Group said its ability to forecast “financial implications” for the group had been “considerably obscured by these events.”
Consequently, the effect of the imposition of the trade tariffs will be felt in the second half by the group and, as a result, the company is withdrawing the market guidance for the year ending 31 August 2025.
Despite this, the board remains confident that the group will be profitable for the current financial year as a whole.
