By Kabiru Abdulrauf.
In a dramatic escalation of the trade war, China announced on Friday it would raise tariffs on US goods to a staggering 125%, effective immediately. This bold move comes after a week of market chaos, as the world’s two largest economies continued to exchange tariffs in a high-stakes trade battle.
China’s response is a direct retaliation to the US’s continued pressure on global trade, particularly President Donald Trump’s decision to increase tariffs on Chinese imports. While the US has used tariffs as a tool to push manufacturers back to the United States and lower trade barriers, China has now signaled it will ignore any further US levies. According to China’s finance ministry, further US actions will be disregarded, as the tariffs have already reached levels where US goods no longer make economic sense for importers in China.
Beijing has condemned Trump’s tariffs as a “numbers game” that holds no real economic value, claiming the US should bear full responsibility for the market instability caused by the escalating trade war. In response to the US’s actions, which have already disrupted global trade, China also announced its intention to file a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization (WTO).
This latest round of tariffs brings the total Chinese levies on US goods to 125%, with no signs of backing down. As the two countries continue to clash, the global economy is left to grapple with the growing uncertainty and potential long-term consequences of the ongoing trade conflict.
