Trade war: China imposes 34% tariff on imports of all US products from April 10

Cranes line a dock at the Port of Oakland on Thursday, April 3, 2025, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

China has announced it will impose a 34% tariff on imports of all US products, starting on April 10.

The new tariff matches the rate of the US “reciprocal” tariff imposed by American president Donald Trump this week.

Beijing’s commerce ministry also said it will impose more export controls on rare earths, which are materials used in high-tech products such as computer chips and electric vehicle batteries.

Included in the list of minerals subject to controls was samarium and its compounds, which are used in aerospace manufacturing and the defence sector. Another element, called gadolinium, is used in MRI scans.

Mr Trump was swift to criticise Beijing’s move.

“China played it wrong, they panicked – the one thing they cannot afford to do,” he wrote in a social media post, adding: “My policies will never change. This is a great time to get rich.” The Chinese government also said it would add 27 US companies to a list of companies subject to trade sanctions or export controls.

Among them, 16 are subject to a ban on the export of “dual-use” goods. High Point Aerotechnologies, a defence tech company, and Universal Logistics Holding, a publicly traded transportation and logistics company, were among those listed.

Beijing also announced it has filed a lawsuit with the World Trade Organisation over the tariffs issue.

Meanwhile, China’s customs administration said it has suspended imports of chicken from two US suppliers, Mountaire Farms of Delaware and Coastal Processing.

It said Chinese customs had repeatedly detected furazolidone, a drug banned in China, in shipments from those companies.

The new tariff matches the rate of the US “reciprocal” tariff imposed by American President Donald Trump this week. Picture: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein

Separately, it said had found high levels of mould in the sorghum and salmonella in poultry meat from some of the companies. The announcements affect one company exporting sorghum, C&D, and four poultry companies.

The Chinese commerce ministry said: “The United States’ imposition of so-called ‘reciprocal tariffs’ seriously violates WTO rules, seriously damages the legitimate rights and interests of WTO members, and seriously undermines the rules-based multilateral trading system and international economic and trade order.

“It is a typical unilateral bullying practice that endangers the stability of the global economic and trade order. China firmly opposes this.” 

Other actions include the launch of an anti-monopoly investigation into DuPont China Group Co, a subsidiary of the multinational chemical giant, and an anti-dumping probe into X-ray tube and CT tubes for CT scanners imported from the US and India.

In February, China announced a 15% tariff on imports of coal and liquefied natural gas products from the US. It separately added a 10% tariff on crude oil, agricultural machinery and large-engine cars.

Dozens of American companies are subject to controls on trade and investment, while many more Chinese companies face similar limits on dealings with US firms.

The latest tariffs apply to all products made in America, according to a statement from the Ministry of Finance’s State Council Tariff Commission.

While friction on the trade front has been heating up, overall relations are somewhat less fractious.

US and Chinese military officials met this week for the first time since Mr Trump took office in January amid concerns about military safety on the seas. The talks held on Wednesday and Thursday in Shanghai were aimed at minimising the risk of trouble, both sides said.