China’s response to President Trump’s new round of tariffs was muted. Beijing issued a statement in protest, but unlike in past rounds of tit-for-tat, it did not lob a counter.
China has cause to be low key. It has so far emerged from the trade war with the United States in a better position. One year ago President Trump threatened tariffs on Chinese goods as high as 145 percent. The levies that Mr. Trump imposed on Chinese goods on Friday were just 12.5 percent.
Factoring in earlier tariffs, including those from Mr. Trump’s first presidency, the overall average weighted tariff on Chinese goods is now 23.1 percent — lower than Brazil or Canada.
Chinese officials are also confident that tariffs will not rise much further, after securing an assurance of a truce from U.S. trade negotiators. That agreement, which trade experts have placed at about a 20 percent cap, was later sealed with a handshake between China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, and Mr. Trump last October.
The new tariffs will “have a limited impact on China at present,” according to analysts at Guojin Securities, a financial firm in Chengdu, China, who calculated the new overall tariff rate. The rate was previously 21.9 percent.
The tariffs imposed on China are part of Mr. Trump’s broader effort to transform global trade. On Friday, the administration issued tariffs on more than 80 trading partners over claims of failing to pass or enforce laws banning forced labor. The new tariffs, which were between 10 percent and 12.5 percent, replaced a global 10 percent tariff as it expired.
The White House issued the duties under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows the president to impose tariffs on foreign countries that engage in unreasonable or discriminatory trade practices. More tariffs are expected in the coming weeks, after an administration proposal to offset what the White House calls unfair practices in several countries’ manufacturing sectors — including China.
None of those tariffs are expected to top those announced by Mr. Trump under an international emergency law on April 2, 2025, which he termed “Liberation Day.” The Supreme Court struck down Mr. Trump’s use of the law to impose tariffs in February.
On Friday, Chinese state media called the Trump administration’s policy “America’s never-ending tariffs,” and added that Washington “has found a new pretext for abusing tariffs.”
The foreign ministry showed more restraint. At a regular news conference on Friday, a spokesman said China opposed “all forms of unilateral tariffs,” but he did not respond when asked whether the country would retaliate.
China may take comfort in a perceived promise by Mr. Trump to cap tariffs, trade experts said.
“My understanding is that there is a ‘wink, wink, nod, nod’ on 20 percent additional tariffs and through these 301 investigations, any findings on China would conveniently not exceed that,” said Wendy Cutler, a senior vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute.
Anything more than a 7.5 percent tariff on China in the next round would risk the fragile truce and invite retaliation, she added. Mr. Trump said Mr. Xi will visit Washington in September.
Trade negotiators set that ceiling last year during U.S.-Chinese trade talks in Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital. Mr. Trump and Mr. Xi shook on the terms of a trade deal in South Korea several days later, agreeing to a tariff truce for one year.
During meetings with Mr. Xi in Beijing in May, Mr. Trump said the two did not discuss tariffs.
But China’s commerce ministry pushed back on his comments, saying in a statement that the United States and China had “engaged in in-depth discussions on tariffs.” The ministry added that it hoped Washington would “honor its commitments” and ensure that the U.S. tariff levels on Chinese goods would “not exceed the level stipulated” during talks in October.
Trade experts said Beijing was drawing a line on tariff rates after a year of standing up to Washington, matching each of Mr. Trump’s ever-higher tariffs with its own and tightening control over rare-earths exports. China dominates the global supply chains for rare earths, materials that are critical to everything from fighter jets to motors in car seats.
“My personal understanding is that during the remainder of Trump’s term, there probably won’t be sharp, comprehensive tariff increases again,” said Tu Xinquan, dean of the China WTO Institute at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing.
Ruoxin Zhang contributed research from Beijing, and Murphy Zhao from Hong Kong.
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