China announced Friday it will impose 34% tariffs on the U.S., just days after President Donald Trump unveiled the same amount against Beijing under his reciprocal tariff plan.
The new China tariffs against the U.S. will go into effect on April 10, according to The Wall Street Journal.
“The U.S. announced tariff hikes on imports from many countries, including China, under the pretext of reciprocity. This gravely violates World Trade Organization rules, and undermines the rules-based multilateral trading system. China firmly rejects this and will do what is necessary to defend our legitimate rights and interests,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a briefing in Beijing yesterday.
“We have emphasized more than once that trade and tariff wars have no winners. Protectionism leads nowhere. We urge the U.S. to stop doing the wrong thing, and resolve trade differences with China and other countries through consultation with equality, respect and mutual benefit,” he added.
CHINA THREATENS TO RETALIATE AFTER TRUMP TARIFF WAVE CRASHES
The 34% tariffs announced against China on Wednesday come in addition to the 20% tariffs already imposed against the country by the Trump administration.
“We knew this was going to be a little bit bumpy in the beginning, but let’s understand what it’s about. It’s about fairness. It’s about America first, not America last,” Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., told FOX Business this morning.
“We have been getting the short end of the stick for years and it’s important that Americans understand this. These are reciprocal tariffs. We have been tariffed. Our goods are tariffed. We are always at an unfair disadvantage with these countries so it’s going to be a little bumpy, they are going to cry, they are going to yell,” he continued. “I spoke to the president personally yesterday, he was telling me that already, countries are coming to him saying ‘lets work this out, we can make a fair deal, we can do better.’ We will. Everybody just hold on a little bit, be a little bit strong, Wall Street will come back. But this is also about Main Street, this is about making things in America.”
Trump touted his sweeping tariff plan at a “Make America Wealthy Again” event, arguing that it will restore the American dream and bolster jobs for U.S. workers.
CONSERVATIVE LEGAL GROUP SUES TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OVER CHINESE IMPORT TARIFFS: ‘CONGRESS NEVER AUTHORIZED’
“American steel workers, auto workers, farmers and skilled craftsmen,” Trump said from the White House Rose Garden on Wednesday afternoon. “We have a lot of them here with us today. They really suffered, gravely. They watched in anguish as foreign leaders have stolen our jobs, foreign cheaters have ransacked our factories, and foreign scavengers have torn apart our once-beautiful American dream. We had an American dream that you don’t hear so much about. You did four years ago, and you are now. But you don’t too often.”
“Now it’s our turn to prosper, and in so doing, use trillions and trillions of dollars to reduce our taxes and pay down our national debt,” he continued. “And it will all happen very quickly. With today’s action, we are finally going to be able to make America great again, greater than ever before. Jobs and factories will come roaring back into our country, and you see it happening already. We will supercharge our domestic industrial base.”
The trade announcements have sparked uncertainty about the cost of goods to Americans, which White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt brushed aside Tuesday during a press briefing, arguing the tariff plan “is going to work.”
FOX Business’ Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
