With the Trump shift in his tariff offensive now primarily concentrated on China, with a 90-day stay in the other draconian tariffs levied by the Administration, China is working to consolidate its support from ASEAN and from Europe in dealing with what it no doubt perceives as an “existential threat” from the United States. U.S. tariffs on imported Chinese goods now stand at a whopping 145% tariffs, with the 125% tariff set on Tuesday added onto the prior 20% levied over fentanyl, the White House confirmed to CNBC today. This position was clearly underlined at the Foreign Ministry briefing today by Spokesman Lin Jian. “Taking necessary countermeasures to oppose the US bullying behavior is not only to safeguard its own sovereignty, security and development interests, but also to safeguard international fairness and justice, safeguard the multilateral trading system, and safeguard the common interests of the international community. A righteous cause will have many supporters, while an unrighteous cause will have few supporters. The US’s perverse actions are unpopular and will ultimately fail.”
While the other countries have received a “reprieve” on the threats, China is also confident that they will again be subject to the same “bullying.”
In spite of threats by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that the Chinese would “cut the throat” of anyone willing to work with China, the Spanish Agricultural Minister, Luis Plana, said that Spain is continuing to strike a deal with the People’s Republic of China. Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao held a video call with EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic on April 8, during which both sides agreed to immediately begin negotiations on electric vehicle (EV) pricing, and to discuss investment ties in the auto sector.
