Donald Trump threatened Monday to escalate his trade war with China by ratcheting up tariffs on exports to a staggering 104 percent.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump threatened to impose an additional 50 percent tariff on China if it did not rescind the retaliatory 34 percent tariffs on U.S. imports Beijing announced Friday.
These tariffs would be in addition to the 34 percent “reciprocal tariff” Trump announced last week, which was already added on top of two rounds of 10 percent tariffs that had been announced last month. The White House confirmed that Trump’s tariffs on China would be 104 percent.
Trump said that if China’s new tariffs weren’t withdrawn by Tuesday, his new tariffs could be imposed the following day.
“Additionally, all talks with China concerning their requested meetings with us will be terminated! Negotiations with other countries, which have also requested meetings, will begin taking place immediately,” he said.
Trump’s latest announcement is sure to send the already volatile stock market swinging. The Dow Jones plummeted more than 900 points at open Monday, after closing with 1,500-point losses for two consecutive days at the end of last week as investors reacted to China’s retaliatory tariffs.
Trump’s promise to once again increase the U.S. tariff rate on China is just the latest escalation in his ongoing mission to start a global trade war that he believes will send every world leader to his door, hoping to make a deal. In the meantime, major U.S. financial institutions predict an economic recession is on the horizon.
The post Trump Hits New Levels of Insanity With Fresh China Tariffs appeared first on New Republic.
