Washington escalates trade war: tariffs on China could reach 245%

BarcelonaThe United States is not easing trade pressure on China. The White House warned in a statement that imported goods from China could face "a 245% tariff" as a result of trade retaliation between the two superpowers.

In a briefing memo released by President Donald Trump's office, the White House details that the 245% tariff would be a result of adding the 125% and 20% reciprocal tariffs to address the fentanyl crisis, in addition to the specific products included in Section 301 of the charges to address alleged 7.5% and 100% limitations.

This 1974 trade rule authorizes the president to take all measures, including tariff retaliation, to suppress any act, policy, or practice of a foreign government that violates the international trade agreement or is unjustifiable or discriminatory and therefore impedes U.S. trade.

The same White House document states that "more than 75 countries have already contacted each other to negotiate new trade agreements." As a result, the higher tariffs announced on April 2 and scheduled to take effect on the 9th of this month are currently frozen. The only exception is China, which retaliated against US imports.

A spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce has highlighted that cumulative tariffs on some products from the Asian country have reached 245%. According to the same source, all of this reflects "the irrationality" with which the US has developed its tariff policy. They also insist that Beijing will ignore "the absurd US tariff numbers game."