China has sharply increased tariffs on American imports to 125%, striking back at the United States in the latest escalation of trade tensions under President Donald Trump’s administration.
The move was confirmed by China’s Customs Tariff Commission on Friday, in response to Washington’s tariff rate hike to a cumulative 145% on Chinese goods. China previously imposed 84% tariffs before the fresh increase.
The commission said US goods had lost competitiveness in the Chinese market, warning that continued tariff hikes would become “a joke in the history of world economy.”
The Trump administration’s tariff policies have drawn global criticism and have effectively derailed negotiations between the two economic powers. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent labelled China “the worst offender” in global trade and predicted the retaliation would backfire.
China’s countermeasures come amid slowing domestic growth. Goldman Sachs on Thursday revised China’s 2025 GDP forecast down to 4%, citing weaker global demand and trade pressures. The bank estimated up to 20 million Chinese workers could be affected by the export downturn to the US.
Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump announced he would temporarily lower the hefty duties he had just imposed on dozens of countries while further ramping up pressure on China, sending US stocks rocketing higher.
In the latest twist, Trump said he would suspend targeted tariffs on other countries for three months to allow time for US officials to negotiate with countries that have sought to reduce them.
But he kept the pressure on China, the No 2 provider of US imports. Trump said he would raise the tariff on Chinese imports to 125% from the 104% level that took effect at midnight, further escalating a high-stakes confrontation between the world’s two largest economies. The two countries have traded tit-for-tat tariff hikes repeatedly over the past week.
Trump’s reversal on the country-specific tariffs is not absolute. A 10% blanket duty on almost all US imports will remain in effect, the White House said. The announcement also does not appear to affect duties on autos, steel and aluminum that are already in place.
