Tariff Wars – China Vows To ‘Fight To The End,’ Calls Trump’s 50% Additional Levies Threat ‘Mistake Upon A Mistake’

The Xi Jinping administration raised the stakes on Tuesday in the ongoing trade war with the U.S. and refused to bow down after President Donald Trump threatened to impose 50% additional tariffs on China.

Trump issued an ultimatum to Beijing, demanding that it lift its 34% retaliatory levies, which were announced in response to the reciprocal tariffs that the U.S. imposed on 185 countries and territories on April 2.

It also warned that any meetings sought by its Chinese counterparts concerning tariffs would be “terminated” if Beijing did not accede to Trump.

However, China refused to blink. Instead, its Commerce Ministry said it would “fight to the end” if the U.S. refused to de-escalate.

The ministry called Trump’s 50% tariff threat a “typical unilateral bullying tactic” and said, "China will never accept it.”

“If the US insists on its own way, China will fight to the end,” the ministry said.

If Trump follows through on his threat and enforces the 50% levy, it would effectively more than double the prices of goods imported from China, as the total levies would be 104% – there is an existing levy of 20% on Chinese imports, and Trump announced reciprocal tariffs of 34% on April 2.

According to a CBS News report, the total levies would amount to 104% with the 50% additional tariff.

“The US threat to escalate tariffs on China is a mistake on top of a mistake,” the Chinese commerce ministry said.

For now, Trump’s tariff threats have gotten the European Union to recommend “zero-for-zero” levies on industrial goods, while Vietnam has extended a 0% tariff offer.

However, Trump’s trade advisor, Peter Navarro, thinks it’s not enough.

Meanwhile, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500 index, was up 2.7% at the time of writing.

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