Donald Trump’s disastrous global tariffs have come into effect today, including a massive 104% rate on Chinese imports to the US.
This week has seen stock markets across the world plunge in reaction to Trump’s wide-ranging tariffs on imports to the US.
Monday saw huge losses in European, Asian and American markets with trillions wiped off the stock market. Despite small signs of recovery on Tuesday morning, the markets suffered further losses on Wednesday as the tariffs came into effect.
This included London’s FTSE 100 index opening 2.5% down and significant losses in Asian markets.
But amongst the tariffs, the most eye-grabbing rate is the one Trump’s administration have slapped on China.
When Trump announced the tariffs last week, he confirmed China would be hit with a 34% rate on top of the 20% that had already been imposed by the White House. In response, Beijing said they would be imposing their own reciprocal tariff on US goods at the same rate.
So, Trump then threatened China with an additional 50% tariff if they didn’t back down on their tariffs. When China refused to meet Trump’s deadline, the extra rate came in, taking the total tariff to 104%.
The tariffs will wipe out all profits Chinese businesses make when exporting to the US.
As the global tariffs come into effect, Trump has said he “knows what he’s doing.”
Speaking at the National Republican Congressional Committee dinner in Washington DC, Trump claimed: “I know what the hell I’m doing. I know what I’m doing and you know what I’m doing, too. That’s why you voted for me.”
He said China has “ripped us off left and right” in the past, but that now it is America’s turn to “do the ripping.”
The president claimed earlier on Tuesday that “a lot of countries want to make deals” with the US following the tariffs.
However, Beijing’s Commerce Ministry has said China “has a firm will and abundant means, will resolutely counteract and fight to the end.”
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