China Vows to Fight Back Against Donald Trump’s Tariffs, Economic Powerhouse Accuses US of Blackmail
- China has vowed to not back down despite tariffs imposed upon the country by Donald Trump
- The US claimed that countries were dying to negotiate with him after his tariff increase announcement
- Global markets also took a beating following Trump's actions, with trillions in equity value lost globally
Source: Getty Images
Briefly News journalist Byron Pillay has dedicated a decade to reporting on the South African political landscape, crime, and social issues. He spent ten years working for the Northern Natal Courier before transitioning to online journalism
WASHINGTON DC – Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs have taken global markets by storm, but not all countries are taking it lying down.
While the South African government expressed concern over the United States President’s actions after he imposed 30% tariffs on the country, China vows to fight to the end.
China, the USA’s major economic rival, announced its own tariff increase against US goods as the trade war between the two nations escalates.
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China doesn’t back down from US threats
Trump upended the world economy on 2 April 2025 when he imposed a baseline 10% tariff on all US imports, with some countries being harder hit. Countries that Trump described as the worst offenders were hit with higher tariffs.
China announced its own 34 percent duties on US goods in retaliation, but this just prompted Trump to introduce further tariffs of 50 percent. Thanks to Trump’s actions, tariffs on Chinese goods now sit at 104 percent.
The Chinese government has hit out at Trump’s retaliation, describing it as blackmail.
"If the US insists on going its own way, China will fight it to the end," a Beijing Commerce Ministry spokesperson said.
They added that Trump’s actions exposed the USA’s nature of blackmailing.
The ministry also confirmed that it was still hoping to engage with the US, as there were no winners in a trade war.
Source: Getty Images
Trump claims countries are dying to make a deal
While he shut down talks with China for the moment, the 78-year-old said he was willing to talk to all countries who wanted to negotiate lower tariffs. He bragged to Republicans that countries were calling him and buttering him up because they wanted to make a deal. He also claimed that China wanted to make a deal as well.
“Beijing wants to make a deal, badly, but they don't know how to get it started," the 47th President of the United States said.
Global markets hit hardest by tariffs
Trump’s tariffs have not only caused tensions, but wreaked havoc on the global economy as well.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng collapsed by 13.2% on Monday, 7 April, while Japan's Nikkei dropped a further 2.7% on 9 April. Wall Street stocks also suffered, with the Dow and S&P 500 ending down.
It is estimated that trillions in equity value were lost globally as a result. It’s also raised fears of a possible global recession. Despite this, Trump maintains that he was not considering stopping the tariff implementation.
Elon Musk has since called for the US President to consider slashing tariffs to Europe to 0%.
SA rand records new lows against British pound
Briefly News reported that the South African rand was also affected by Trump's recent tariff increases.
The rand slumped against the British pound, recording its worst level ever, trading at R24.96.
The rand also traded at R19.33 to the US dollar as of 7 April 2025, as Trump's actions took its toll.
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Source: Briefly News
