- President Donald Trump’s new tariffs — a $10 universal import duty and reciprocal levies on 90 countries — took effect Saturday, triggering market turbulence and prompting a swift 34% retaliatory tariff from China. Trump hailed the move as a bold push to “Make America Great Again.”
Some of the new tariffs announced by President Donald Trump earlier this week went into effect on Saturday, prompting customs agents to begin collections at US ports of entry. The measures include a $10 universal duty on all imports and reciprocal tariffs aimed at roughly 90 countries.
Trump said these moves are part of a larger effort to rejuvenate the American economy.
“We are bringing back jobs and businesses like never before,” he wrote in a Saturday post on Truth Social.
“It won’t be easy but the end result will be historic. We will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”
Targeted tariffs set for Wednesday
Higher duties targeting specific countries are scheduled to begin on Wednesday. These measures are intended, according to Trump, to enforce trade fairness and restore American manufacturing strength.
Markets react as global tensions rise
The sweeping tariffs, described by Trump as part of an “economic revolution,” rattled global markets, triggering steep selloffs amid fears of a new round of trade wars. The announcement is seen as one of the most aggressive moves of Trump’s second term.
China fires back
China responded swiftly to US tariffs. On Friday, Beijing announced a 34% tariff on all US imports starting April 10.
“China has been negatively impacted by tariffs much harder than the USA, not even close,” Trump claimed on Truth Social.
He doubled down on his hardline stance, stating: “They, and many other nations, have treated us unsustainably badly. We have been the dumb and helpless ‘whipping post,’ but not any longer.”
Trump spotted reviewing China’s response
While at his golf club in Jupiter, Florida, Trump was seen reading a tabloid article on China’s countermeasures. His administration has made it clear that no retreat from the tariff plan is being considered, even in the face of international backlash.
With the reciprocal tariffs set to kick in midweek, diplomatic tensions are likely to escalate further.
In a social media post on Truth Social, US President Donald Trump hailed the US tariffs on nations after the stock market crash and said that more than $5 trillion and more has been invested for the cause as he eyes a trade war win for the United States.
President Donald Trump, in his post, highlighted that China has been hit harder in the ongoing trade war between the world nations and the United States. He also said that the reciprocal tariffs imposed on the nations are a result of them treating the US badly with their tariff rates.
“China has been hit much harder than the USA, not even close. They, and many other nations, have treated us unsustainably badly. We have been the dumb and helpless ‘whipping post,’ but not any longer,” said Trump in his Truth Social post.
According to an AP report, the US jobs report released on Friday showed that there were 2.28 lakh jobs which were added in the month of March, however, the unemployment rate in the nation increased to 4.2 per cent.
In his post, Donald Trump also highlighted that the new administration is working to bring back jobs like “never before.”
The President also attempted to reassure the people of America and investors that the $5 trillion lost in the US stock market crash on Friday was a form of investment which is aimed at making “America great again”. However, he also addressed that this trade war route will not be easy for the nation.
“Already, more than FIVE TRILLION DOLLARS OF INVESTMENT, and rising fast! THIS IS AN ECONOMIC REVOLUTION, AND WE WILL WIN. HANG TOUGH, it won’t be easy, but the end result will be historic. We will, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!” said Donald Trump in his post on Truth Social.
China’s response to US market crash
China on Saturday flagged that the United States should to stop doing the “wrong things” and work to resolve its differences with its trading partners.
“Now is the time for the U.S. to stop doing the wrong things and resolve the differences with trading partners through equal-footed consultation,” said the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson, Guo Jiakun, in a Facebook post.
This comes after the bloodbath in the US stock market, in which nearly $5 trillion was wiped out in market capitalisation. This market crash was the worst crisis since the COVID-19 pandemic, as China announced its move to impose 34 per cent additional tariffs on all imports from the United States effective April 10, 2025.
China’s additional tariff announcement was a retaliating move for the US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariff move on April 2.