The trade war between the U.S. and China just took another sharp turn. On Friday, China announced it will slap a 34% tariff on all U.S. imports starting April 10, matching the same rate as the new U.S. tariffs Donald Trump rolled out this week as part of his so-called “Liberation Day” economic agenda.
But the response didn’t stop there.
Beijing is also tightening its grip on rare earth exports, materials critical to tech products like smartphones, electric vehicles, and military gear. Two key elements, samarium and gadolinium, used in aerospace and medical imaging, are now under stricter controls
China’s customs office took further action, halting chicken imports from two U.S. suppliers, Mountaire Farms and Coastal Processing, after repeatedly detecting a banned drug in shipments. Meanwhile, 27 U.S.-linked companies were hit with new trade sanctions or export restrictions, including defense contractor High Point Aerotechnologies and logistics giant Universal Logistics Holding.
To top it off, China filed an official complaint with the World Trade Organization, accusing the U.S. of violating global trade rules and calling the latest tariffs “unilateral bullying” that threatens the stability of international markets.
This isn’t the first round of retaliation. Back in February, China already placed tariffs ranging from 10% to 15% on U.S. coal, oil, cars, and farm equipment.
The message from Beijing is loud and clear. They’re not backing down. With both sides digging in, the U.S.-China trade war just escalated and it’s everyday industries and consumers that could end up paying the price.
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