China hits U.S. with 34% tariff in retaliation, Trump says they ’played it wrong’

Investing.com -- China announced a 34% tariff on all imports from the United States, effective from April 10, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.  China also placed curbs on the export of some rare earths to the U.S.

China’s decision comes in response to a similar 34% tariff imposed by the United States on Chinese goods, escalating the ongoing tariff war between the two nations.  The U.S.’s new levy on Chinese goods is in addition to the 20% tariff previously announced, for a total levy of 54%.

"The purpose of the Chinese government’s implementation of export controls on relevant items in accordance with the law is to better safeguard national security and interests, and to fulfil international obligations such as non-proliferation," China’s commerce ministry said.

U.S. and European markets hit the lowest point in Friday’s trading sessions following the report. At 9:37AM ET, STOXX 600 was down 4.4% while the S&P 500 extended its decline to 3%.

On Thursday, the day after the U.S reciprocal tariffs were announced, U.S markets plunged, with the Dow falling 4%, the S&P 500 falling 4.8%, and the Nasdaq falling 6%.  It was the largest drop since 2020.

Similarly, U.S.-listed Chinese shares fell, with Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd ADR (NYSE:BABA) dropping as much as 8.6% in premarket trade, PDD Holdings Inc DRC (NASDAQ:PDD) fell 7.8%, Baidu Inc (NASDAQ:BIDU) is down 7.4% while JD.com Inc Adr (NASDAQ:JD) saw its stock trade 8.7% lower.

In his first comments Friday following the retaliation from China, U.S. President Donald Trump took a defiant tone. In a post on his Truth Social platform, he said his policies would never change.

"To the many investors coming into the United States and investing massive amounts of money, my policies will never change," Trump said. "This is a great time to get rich, richer than ever before!!!"

In follow-up comments, Trump said, "China played it wrong, they panicked - the one thing they cannot afford to do!"

Yesterday, Trump likened the process to a surgical operation on a patient, stating, "It was an operation like when a patient gets operated on, and it’s a big thing. I said this would exactly be the way it is." He further predicted that the markets, stocks, and the country will experience a boom.

(Senad Karaahmetovic contributed to this report)