China, in his words · Second term · № 106

On China

Said China "played it wrong" and "panicked" by retaliating against his tariffs

“CHINA PLAYED IT WRONG, THEY PANICKED - THE ONE THING THEY CANNOT AFFORD TO DO!”
Said
, Post on Truth Social (@realDonaldTrump)
Subject
retaliatory tariffs
Threat
Economic threat
Topic
Trade & tariffs
Era
Second term

What the record showed

The post came the day China announced a 34 percent tariff on all U.S. goods in response to Trump's April 2 tariff order. Trump raised the added duty on Chinese goods from 34 to 84 percent on April 8, China announced an 84 percent tariff on U.S. goods on April 9, and Trump raised the U.S. rate to 125 percent the same day. In a joint statement issued May 12, 2025 after talks in Geneva, both governments agreed to remove the April 8 and 9 increases and suspend 24 percentage points of the remaining rate for 90 days, leaving a 10 percent additional duty on each side.

Sources

  1. Truth Social Posts of April 4, 2025 The American Presidency Project, Apr 4, 2025
  2. Executive Order 14259—Amendment to Reciprocal Tariffs and Updated Duties as Applied to Low-Value Imports From the People's Republic of China The American Presidency Project, Apr 8, 2025
  3. Executive Order 14266—Modifying Reciprocal Tariff Rates To Reflect Trading Partner Retaliation and Alignment The American Presidency Project, Apr 9, 2025
  4. Joint Statement Between the United States and China on Trade Negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland The American Presidency Project, May 12, 2025