China maintains its stance against Trump and raises tariffs to 125%.

Beijing / WashingtonThe trade war between the world's two leading powers continues unabated, and for now they are persisting with a tit-for-an-tat policy. China announced this Friday that it is countering Donald Trump's pressure by raising tariffs on US products to 125%, while Washington continues to cling to its decision to apply 145% while asking American citizens to have faith in the president's plans. "Trust in your agenda and economic formula. It's a proven formula that works," White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said at a press conference this Friday.

The Chinese response came on the same day that Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez met with Xi Jinping in Beijing as part of an official visit. Sánchez asserted that he seeks a stronger and more balanced relationship with China and reiterated that "a trade war has no winners."

The decision to continue escalating tensions with the United States was announced by the Chinese Ministry of Finance in a statement. The tariffs will rise from 84% to 125% on all imports from the United States and will take effect on Saturday, April 12. In the same statement, the Asian giant announced that it has no intention of raising these trade surcharges again, which have skyrocketed since the trade war initiated by Trump. Both countries are playing a game of pulling the strings in a game in which they have little to lose if they don't end up at the negotiating table. The tariffs are so outrageously high that they practically make trade between them unviable.

At the regular press conference, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian asserted that Beijing's decision "not only protects its own legitimate interests, but also safeguards the international order and the rights of all countries affected by US unilateralism."

The US strikes "harder"

"The president has made it clear that when America gets hit, America hits back harder," Leavitt said from the White House, almost as if responding to the Chinese spokesperson's remarks. The secretary insisted that Trump is "willing to cooperate if China is willing to reach an agreement," but that this is unlikely to happen as long as Beijing maintains its tariff drive. "If China continues to retaliate, it's not good for them," said the spokesperson, who emphasized the good relationship between Trump and Xi Jinping.

When a reporter asked why the president doesn't call his Chinese counterpart, given their good relationship, the secretary deflected the question and avoided answering. "There is great optimism and many reasons to be optimistic" is the phrase Leavitt consistently used when asked whether talks were already underway with Beijing.

Leavitt has urged Americans to trust Trump as the latest University of Michigan survey shows how consumer confidence plummeted in April. Looking ahead to next year, respondents expect inflation to rise to 6.7%, the highest figure since 1981 and a considerable increase over the 5% projected in March. Wall Street is also not particularly confident in Trump's plans; the escalation of trade with China is already significant enough to drag the world into a recession, as former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen warned on CNN. Together, the United States and China represent more than 40% of the global economy.

On Thursday, Trump acknowledged that his tariffs to restructure global trade will entail "a transition cost and transition problems," and this Friday, Leavitt reiterated: "There will be a transition period." Without providing more solid data, the secretary has asked the country to take a leap of faith. Many of the people who voted for the Republican on November 5 did so believing in his promise to lower the cost of the grocery store. Now the president is implementing an agenda that goes in the opposite direction.

Trade is starting to become unprofitable.

Some experts have calculated that Chinese exporters have, at best, a 40% margin, and tariffs above 35% leave them practically without profit. In the case of the United States, it's also not very viable for consumers for electronics or toys to become 145% more expensive, and the fact that Intel chips are penalized by China with tariffs of 125% makes them less competitive. The Asian giant represents 29% of the American semiconductor manufacturer's revenue.

The trade war between Beijing and Washington could cause a genuine division in global trade that will impact the global economy. Donald Trump's decision to freeze tariffs in all countries for 90 days and leave them at 10%, except for China, which has raised them, aims to isolate the Asian giant.