AFP reported that speaking at the White House on April 7, President Donald Trump affirmed that he would not suspend any tariff measures pending negotiations, emphasizing that: "We do not consider suspending tariffs. Many countries are coming to negotiate fair deals with us.
Trump said the additional 50% would be triggered if China did not withdraw the 34% retaliatory tariffs it had just announced on April 4 on US goods.
The move comes as part of Trump's "Liberation Day" campaign, which imposes a minimum tax of 10% on almost all trade partners.
If a 50% tax rate is applied, Chinese goods will be subject to a total import tax of up to 104%, accumulated from the 20% tariffs applied since March and the 34% newly announced last week.
" Any country that pays the US by imposing additional tariffs will immediately face new tariffs and much higher," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Information about new tax rates has caused a stir in the global financial market. Major stock indexes from the US, Europe to Asia were on fire all year round. In particular, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index (China) fell more than 13% on April 7, the strongest one-day decline since 1997.
In Europe, the UK FTSE 100 fell more than 4%, while in the US, the S&P 500 continued to decline for the third consecutive day. Japanese and German stocks also sang in the red.
Despite warnings of heavy tariffs, Trump has left open the possibility of negotiations. We can negotiate, but there will be long-term tariffs, he said. He also affirmed that the US will negotiate with China and many other countries to reach "fair and good agreements".
His statement comes as the US is carrying a debt of up to $1 trillion, which Trump said was partly due to unfair trade deals in the past.
On the same day, Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while Japan sent a negotiating delegation to Washington. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also proposed a tax at 0 - in exchange for tax at 0 deal, but insists the EU is ready to retaliate against trade attacks.
