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Investing.com-- U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday evening signed an executive order imposing an additional 50% tariff on China, marking an escalation in an increasingly dire trade war with Beijing.
Trump signed an order increasing his reciprocal tariffs against China to 84% from a prior rate of 34%, effective from 00:01 ET (04:01 GMT), April 9.
The order comes just a day after Trump threatened to hike tariffs against China if Beijing did not withdraw its decision to impose 34% retaliatory tariffs against the U.S..
Trump’s order now brings the total tariff rate against China to 104%, well above the 60% threatened by Trump when he was campaigning for the presidency. The 84% reciprocal tariff is in addition to a 20% tariff imposed in March.
Trump’s order also increased tariffs on De Minimis goods- a class of low-value goods from China and Hong Kong that were initially exempt from any U.S. import tariffs.
China had signaled that it had no intent of backing down, with officials vowing to “fight to the end” against the U.S.. China is also expected to ramp up its stimulus measures to offset the economic headwinds from Trump’s tariffs.
Trump’s reciprocal tariffs on other major economies are also set to take effect from April 9. The U.S. President claims he is seeking to rectify allegedly “unfair” trading practices that disadvantage the U.S., and is also looking to increase U.S. manufacturing and industrial output with his tariffs.
While U.S. officials claimed that they had begun or planned talks with at least 50 countries over new trade agreements, Trump has signaled little intent to begin immediate negotiations with China.
Growing fears of a global trade war, along with disruptions for U.S. companies from Trump’s tariffs sparked steep declines in financial markets in recent sessions.