China hikes tariffs on US goods to 84% from 34% effective April 10, six entities added to ‘unreliable list’

China on Wednesday, April 9, responded to US President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Chinese exports by levying 84 per cent on its imports from America, intensifying the trade war between the world's top two economies.

The hike in levies, up from 34 per cent, came hours after Trump’s explosive new tariffs on 60 countries, including 104 per cent on China, went into effect after midnight Wednesday US time. Trump's threat of additional 50 per cent tariffs on China on Monday came after Beijing refused to withdraw the 34 per cent tariffs on US goods by Tuesday, which it had announced to retaliate against Trump's 34 per cent levy on Chinese goods announced last week.

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China will hike the additional tariffs on products imported from the United States to 84 per cent effective Thursday, state-run Xinhua news agency reported, quoting the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council.

The announcement follows the US decision to raise the reciprocal tariffs on Chinese imports from 34 per cent to 84 per cent, a move that, according to the Customs Tariff Commission," goes further down the wrong path and seriously infringes on China's legitimate rights and interests."

China adds six US entities to ‘unreliable list’

China also added six US firms to its unreliable entity list, the Commerce Ministry announced today. Disregarding strong opposition from China, these companies have participated in arms sales to Taiwan or engaged in military technology cooperation with Taiwan, undermining China's sovereignty, security, and development interests, news agency Xinhua reported. 

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Separately, the country's commerce ministry said China has added 12 US companies to its export control list, adding that these companies have engaged in activities that may endanger China's national security and interests.

"The US escalation of tariffs on China is a mistake on top of a mistake, which seriously infringes on China's legitimate rights and interests and undermines the rules-based multilateral trading system," said China's finance ministry.

Trump has imposed "reciprocal" tariffs on dozens of economies he accuses of "ripping off" the US by selling goods into the world's largest consumer economy while maintaining trade barriers that inhibit US firms' market access. But he has singled out China for the most punishing taxes, setting the stage for a standoff between the world's top two economies.

China's white paper

China released a white paper on US-China commercial ties in which it said Beijing did not deliberately pursue a trade surplus. The report said, “The trade imbalance in goods between China and the US is an inevitable result of structural issues in the US economy and a consequence of the comparative advantages and international division of labour between the two countries.”

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According to US Census data, China's trade surplus with the US widened to $295.4 billion last year from $279.1 billion in 2023. The goods trade gap peaked in 2018 at $418 billion, the same year Trump, in his first term as president, imposed tariffs on Chinese outbound shipments. 

According to the data, the first US-China trade war concluded with Beijing agreeing to a "Phase 1" trade deal with Washington in 2020 in which it agreed to increase purchases of US exports by $200 billion over a two-year period.