U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on AI infrastructure on the Roosevelt room at White Home in Washington, U.S., January 21, 2025.
Carlos Barria | Reuters
President Donald Trump mentioned that his workforce was discussing a ten% tariff on China and that the responsibility might take impact as early as Feb. 1.
“We’re speaking a couple of tariff of 10% on China primarily based on the truth that they’re sending fentanyl to Mexico and Canada,” the president mentioned, talking to reporters on the White Home on Tuesday night.
“Most likely Feb. 1 is the date we’re taking a look at,” he added.
Fentanyl, an artificial opioid, is an addictive drug that is led to tens of 1000’s of overdose deaths annually within the U.S. Decreasing illicit provides of the drug, precursors of that are principally produced in China and Mexico, has develop into an space through which Washington and Beijing have agreed to cooperate.
Trump mentioned Friday that he spoke with Chinese language President Xi Jinping over the telephone about fentanyl and trade. The Chinese language aspect’s readout mentioned Xi known as for cooperation and solid the 2 international locations’ financial ties as mutually helpful.
There are “no winners” in a trade war, China’s Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, instructed the World Financial Discussion board in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday, in line with an official translation. He known as for worldwide efforts to assist “financial globalization” and “distribute it higher.”
The offshore Chinese language yuan initially strengthened, earlier than weakening to commerce at 7.2796 towards the buck.
Main Chinese language state-run and monetary media didn’t point out the proposed China tariffs, whereas highlighting different Trump headlines akin to his warning of duties on the European Union.
The U.S. is China’s largest buying and selling associate on a single-country foundation. China’s imports from the U.S. fell 0.1% in greenback phrases final 12 months, whereas exports grew 4.9%, in line with official information accessed via Wind Data.
The info confirmed China’s commerce surplus with the U.S. in 2024 was $361 million, increased than the $316.9 million reported for 2020, the final full 12 months of Trump’s first time period. Again then, the White Home had raised tariffs on Chinese language items in an try to extend the nation’s imports of U.S. items, and tackle longstanding issues of U.S. companies in China. Beijing had reciprocated with duties of its own.
“If the US imposed an extra 10 % tariff on China and China responded in sort, US GDP could be $55 billion much less over the 4 years of the second Trump administration, and $128 billion much less in China,” the U.S.-based Peterson Institute for Worldwide Economics mentioned in a Jan. 17 report.
Deliberate tariffs on U.S. neighbors
Trump additionally famous on Tuesday that his workforce was speaking a couple of tariff of “roughly 25%” on Mexico and Canada.
He made comparable feedback a day earlier, noting that levies on Mexico and Canada might happen as early as February.
“We’re considering when it comes to 25% (levies) on Mexico and Canada, as a result of they’re permitting an unlimited variety of individuals” over the border, he mentioned on Monday.
Whereas campaigning in 2024, Trump had threatened imposing tariffs upward of 60% on Chinese language items. As just lately as November, he known as for “an additional 10% Tariff” on China, in line with a publish on his social media platform Truth Social.
Correction: An earlier model of this story misstated which international locations could be topic to a 25% levy. These nations are Mexico and Canada.
