China’s Ministry of Finance announced on Friday additional tariffs and restrictions against U.S. goods in retaliation to U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs. The ministry said it would impose additional tariffs of 34 percent on all U.S. goods starting on April 10.
On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 10 percent baseline tax on imports from all countries and higher tariff rates on several other nations that run trade surpluses with the United States. Among the most prominent countries hit by the tariffs is China, at 34 percent. The decision also targeted the European Union with a 20 percent tariff, Vietnam at 46 percent, Taiwan at 32 percent, India at 26 percent and Japan at 24 percent.
Export controls on medium and heavy rare-earths
China also announced controls on exports of medium and heavy rare-earths, including samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, scandium, and yttrium to the U.S., effective April 4.
“The purpose of the Chinese government’s implementation of export controls on relevant items in accordance with the law is to better safeguard national security and interests, and to fulfill international obligations such as non-proliferation,” the Commerce Ministry said in a statement.
The commerce ministry also added 16 U.S. entities to its export control list and 11 entities to the “unreliable entity” list, which allows Beijing to take punitive actions against foreign entities.
“The U.S. practice is inconsistent with international trade rules, seriously undermines China’s legitimate rights and interests, and is a typical unilateral bullying practice that not only undermines the interests of the United States itself, but also endangers global economic development and the stability of the production and supply chain,” noted state news outlet Xinhua, citing the finance ministry.
The statement added that goods shipped from the place of departure before 12:01 on April 10, 2025 and imported between 12:01 on April 10, 2025 and 24:00 on May 13, 2025 will not be subject to the additional tariffs.
“China urges the United States to immediately cancel its unilateral tariff measures and resolve trade differences through consultation in an equal, respectful and mutually beneficial manner,” the statement added.
Read: U.S. tariffs could constrict global trade by 1 percent in 2025, WTO warns
U.S. market reacts
U.S. stock futures plummeted on Friday after China announced its retaliatory tax. S&P 500 futures were down 1.24 percent, Nasdaq 100 was down 1.22 percent and the Dow fell 1.41 percent. Trump’s tariffs had already caused a $2.4 trillion loss from U.S. equities on Thursday.
In addition, the European STOXX 600 share index fell 3.1 percent, more than 10 percent below its record closing high from March 3. The decline on Friday extended the previous day’s 2.6 percent drop.
As European shares head for the biggest weekly loss in three years, the European Union’s trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic will speak to U.S. counterparts on Friday
“The EU will respond in a calm, carefully phased, and above all, unified way, as we calibrate our response. We will not shoot from the hip – we want to give negotiations every chance to succeed to find a fair deal, to the benefit of both sides,” he said in a social media post on Thursday.
