Treasury Secretary Scott Becent warned on Wednesday that China’s decision to retaliate against President Donald Trump’s tariffs would ultimately backfire.
China has announced that it is increasing the tariff on American products from 34% to 84% in response to hiking tariffs on Chinese products from 54% to 104%, and CNBC. It has been reported. In “morning with the morning,” Bescent argued that China needs to lose more in the trade war, as much more is being exported to the US than imports. (Related: “I’ve never met a tax cut I didn’t like”: Kudlow examines the possibilities and pitfalls of Trump’s tariffs)
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“I think it’s a shame that Chinese people don’t want to actually come and negotiate because they are the worst criminals in the international trade system. They have the most disproportionate economy in modern world history,” Bescent told host Maria Bartiromo. “And you know, this escalation is a loser to them and they are very clever – the economists… you can tell us that they have their bureaucratic technocrats. They are surplus countries and their exports to the US can raise their tariffs, so our exports are five times higher.
“No one wins in a war, but that’s proportionality. And the proportionality of the Chinese will be much worse,” he added. “And other things, what’s a very good step forward with Maria and the Chinese is to acknowledge that the precursor chemicals of fentanyl come from China, they have expanded into North America and have since been sold to the US.
China exported $438.9 billion worth of goods to the United States in 2024, and the United States exported $143.5 billion to China. According to US trade representative. US consumer spending accounts for almost 70% of gross domestic product (GDP). According to To JP Morgan Asset Management.
Trump originally planned to impose a 20% tariff on China in February on its role in the fentanyl epidemic. He raised them by 34% on April 2 as part of his broad tariff initiative targeting foreign imports.
China then imposed a 34% tariff on the US accordingly.
The US and China previously engaged in a massive trade war during Trump’s first term.
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