US President Donald Trump made good on his promise to react to a tariff response by China by doubling their effective tariff of 52% to 104%.

China had just applied a 34% tariff on US goods.

Not only are we unsure as to whether the tit-for-tat trade measures are finished, but the effects of this shock to the world trade system could tip either the US or China or indeed the world into a downward spiral.  And this is how the Great Depression gathered speed after the Smoot-Hawley protectionist Tariff law put up a commercial wall around America supposedly to protect American jobs.  It had the opposite effect, with a quarter of all Americans out of work soon after.

STOP PRESS

China retaliates (again) Wednesday night with an 84% tariff – up from 34%

UPDATE

US retaliates overnight with a 125% tariff on China “effective immediately”

Image: Image: Shutterstock – AI

Produced By: Roderick Chambers

Featured In Story: Dr Dominic Meagher – Deputy Director and Chief Economist John Curtin Research Centre, Australian National University

First aired on The Wire, Wednesday 9 April 2025