China issues blunt response after Trump announces extreme new tariffs as a result of ‘retaliatory actions’

A spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a 12-word response after being asked about Trump’s further tariffs against the country.

When will the to-ing and fro-ing end? I hear you cry. Well, unfortunately it doesn’t look like it will be anytime soon.

You may have been told you can’t get more than 100 percent of anything when you were in fourth or fifth grade, but Donald Trump is here to prove you otherwise’ He’s previously raised tariffs on China to a staggering 145 percent – and it turns out, he wasn’t stopping there, either.

After China announced it was raising tariffs on the US from 84 percent to 125 percent, Trump, of course, hit back.

Yesterday (April 15), the POTUS signed an executive order ‘launching an investigation into the national security risks posed by US reliance on imported processed critical minerals and their derivative products’ alongside even higher tariffs on China.

When asked today about the White House’s executive order implementing 245 percent tariffs on China, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian simply replied, as quoted by the Global Times: “You can ask the US side for the specific tax rate figures.”

Indeed, the tax rate figures are broken down further in Trump’s executive order on the country.

The White House’s page for the executive order explains: “This Executive Order builds on previous actions taken by the Trump Administration to ensure US trade policy serves the nation’s long-term interests.

“On Day One, President Trump initiated his America First Trade Policy to make America’s economy great again. On Liberation Day, President Trump imposed a 10 percent tariff on all countries and individualized reciprocal higher tariffs on nations with which the U.S. has the largest trade deficits in order to level the playing field and protect America’s national security.

“More than 75 countries have already reached out to discuss new trade deals. As a result, the individualized higher tariffs are currently paused amid these discussions, except for China.”

So, what does the executive order really mean for China?

Trump is not holding back (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

What Trump’s executive order on China actually means

Well, the order states as a result of China having ‘retaliated’ with its own tariffs against the US, the country ‘now faces up to a 245 percent tariff on imports to the United States as a result of its retaliatory actions’.

“President Trump signed proclamations to close existing loopholes and exemptions to restore a true 25 percent tariff on steel and elevate the tariff to 25 percent on aluminium,” it adds.

The order resolves Trump ‘unveiled the “Fair and Reciprocal Plan” on trade to restore fairness in U.S. trade relationships and counter non-reciprocal trade agreements and also ‘signed a memorandum to safeguard American innovation, including the consideration of tariffs to combat digital service taxes (DSTs), fines, practices, and policies that foreign governments levy on American companies’.

It adds: “President Trump signed similar Executive Orders launching investigations into how imports of copper and imports of timber, lumber, and their derivative products threaten America’s national security and economic stability.”