China imposes 34% tariff on US products, new export controls on rare earths

By Koen Verhelst | 04/04/2025 11:23 AM EDT

Beijing’s counterattack against President Donald Trump comes after Wednesday’s wide-ranging measures.

BRUSSELS — China will hit all U.S. imports with a 34 percent tariff from April 10 as retaliation against measures President Donald Trump levied earlier this week, Beijing’s finance ministry announced Friday.

China was one of the main targets of the massive, wide-ranging tariffs that Trump presented this week. The U.S. runs a vast trade deficit in goods with China because it imports heavily from the Asian powerhouse.

Beijing’s retaliation brings the world to the brink of a fully fledged trade war, as massive economies — including the EU — weigh tough responses to the White House announcement.

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Along with the retaliatory tariffs, China also raised the bar for exports to the U.S. of critical raw materials, such as samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, scandium and yttrium.

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