President Trump has changed the direction of the global tariff war he initiated a week ago by announcing on social media the suspension of new tariffs on all countries except China for 90 days. The reason for delaying the retaliatory tariffs, Trump said, was because “over 75 countries” did not retaliate against the United States but instead reached out to negotiate a resolution. However, the Chinese Communist Party did not cooperate and confronted Trump directly, leading him to decide to continue imposing tariffs on China by raising them to 125%, effective immediately. He wrote that this was because “China lacks respect for the world market.”
After Trump’s statement, White House Press Secretary Levy told reporters, “When you attack the United States, President Trump will hit back even harder.” On Wednesday, Beijing imposed a total of 84% tariffs on goods imported from the United States in response to Trump’s decision to raise tariffs on all Chinese goods to 104%.
US Treasury Secretary Benson stated that as the US-China trade war escalates, if Beijing does not compromise, the US does not rule out the possibility of delisting Chinese companies from US stock exchanges. As of March 7, a total of 286 Chinese companies were listed on US stock exchanges with a market value of $1.1 trillion. Benson also warned that any US allies aligning with the Chinese Communist Party on trade issues would be “digging their own graves.”
Apart from China, Trump postponed tariff wars with other countries. However, the 10% base tariff remains in place while higher punitive tariffs are suspended across the board.
The impact of the postponed tariff war led to a significant rebound in the turbulent US stock market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surged over 2,000 points on the 9th, a 6.2% increase, reaching 39,978.34 points; the S&P 500 index rose by 7% to 5,329.32 points; the Nasdaq Composite index surged by 8.6% to 16,581.52 points; the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index skyrocketed more than 12%; and TSMC ADR soared by 7%.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller praised Trump’s actions on X platform.
He wrote: President Trump’s strategic brilliance, bold leadership style, and ingenious tactical planning, in just a few days, have far surpassed the efforts of others over the past decade in reforming the shattered international trade system and achieving results. At the same time, he has isolated the leading perpetrator of global economic aggression – the Chinese Communist Party – both economically and politically.
Treasury Secretary Benson pointed out that Trump not only raised tariffs but also set a trap, which China happened to fall into. Now Beijing faces the challenge alone, completely exposed, showing the world their true colors.
The escalation of tariffs between the US and China has brought a full-blown trade war to the brink, with both nations sprinting towards economic decoupling. Trump said on True News, “I hope that in the near future, China will realize that the days of exploiting the United States and other countries have come to an end.”