China responds to Trump tariff war
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President Donald Trump doubled down on his bold “Liberation Day” tariff plan Friday, even as China fired back with a hefty 34% tariff on American goods. Unfazed, Trump assured investors that his economic vision remains rock-solid, promising that his “policies will never change.”
In a flurry of fiery, all-caps posts on Truth Social, the president dismissed China’s countermove as a misstep. “CHINA PLAYED IT WRONG, THEY PANICKED – THE ONE THING THEY CANNOT AFFORD TO DO!” he declared, exuding confidence that his strategy would prevail despite jittery markets, which took another nosedive in Friday’s opening hour.
Earlier that morning, Trump rallied investors with a bullish message: “THE MANY INVESTORS COMING INTO THE UNITED STATES AND INVESTING MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF MONEY, MY POLICIES WILL NEVER CHANGE.”
He added a tantalizing promise: “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO GET RICH, RICHER THAN EVER BEFORE!!!”
But the markets told a different story. The Dow Jones Industrial Average cratered, shedding over 1,400 points in the first 70 minutes of trading on Friday.
Investors braced for a potential cascade of retaliatory tariffs from other nations following Trump’s Wednesday rollout of the tariff package—a plan months in the making. It slaps a baseline 10% duty on all foreign goods, with steeper rates for countries deemed the “worst offenders.” China, already facing a 20% tariff, got hit with an additional 34% levy.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Thursday, Trump framed the tariffs as a negotiating ace up his sleeve. “The tariffs give us great power to negotiate. They always have. I’ve used them very well in the first administration,” he said.
He hinted at flexibility, noting he’d consider easing rates if nations offer deals that benefit the U.S.—but on the condition that “they are giving us something that is good.”
Despite the market chaos, Trump painted an optimistic picture Thursday, predicting a roaring economic surge once the tariffs take hold. The 10% base rate kicks in Saturday, with higher duties starting the following Wednesday.
“I think it’s going very well. It was an operation, like what a patient gets operated on, and it’s a big thing,” he told reporters as he departed the White House.
“We have $6 or $7 trillion coming in to our country, and we’ve never seen anything like it. The markets are going to boom, the stock is going to boom, the country is going to boom.”
The White House seized on Friday’s robust March jobs report to bolster its case. “GREAT JOB NUMBERS, FAR BETTER THAN EXPECTED. IT’S ALREADY WORKING. HANG TOUGH, WE CAN’T LOSE!!!” Trump crowed on Truth Social.
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I hope Trump is right about the tariffs, but at this point, the best response is "We will see if he is right." I have not been a big investor of late nor have I been active in buying imported goods from China. That is not to say that there is nothing from China in my closet.
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