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Skip next section China files complaint with World Trade OrganizationApril 9, 2025
China files complaint with World Trade OrganizationChina lodged a new complaint with the World Trade Organization on Wednesday after the US further increased tariffs on Chinese imports to 104%.
“The situation has dangerously escalated… As one of the affected members, China expresses grave concern and firm opposition to this reckless move,” the Chinese mission to the WTO said in a statement provided to Reuters.
The move was also reported by Chinese state media.
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Skip next section Trump urges companies to move operations to USApril 9, 2025
Trump urges companies to move operations to USUS President Donald Trump on Wednesday urged companies to relocate their oprations to the US in order to avoid tariffs.
“This is a GREAT time to move your COMPANY into the United States of America,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
He promised businesses “ZERO TARIFFS,” and “no environmental delays.”
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Skip next section China raises tariffs on US goods to 84%April 9, 2025
China raises tariffs on US goods to 84%China will raise its retaliatory tariff on US imports from 34% up to 84%, the Chinese Finance Ministry said on Wednesday afternoon.
The higher tariff will come into force on Thursday.
The United States exported $144.6 billion (€131.1 billion) in goods to China in 2024.
Agricultural products were a key commodity, with China buying more than half of US soybean exports last year. The US also exported fuel and oil products as well as electrical machinery.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said shortly afterward that China’s new tariffs were “unfortunate.”
https://p.dw.com/p/4ssYO
Skip next section Tariffs pummel global marketsApril 9, 2025
Tariffs pummel global marketsZac Crellin
Global markets reeled on Wednesday as Trump’s tariffs kicked in.
European indexes opened down, with Germany’s DAX losing 2.1%, Britain’s FTSE 100 down 2% and the French CAC 40 down 2.1%.
More broadly, Europe’s STOXX 600 fell nearly 3% in early trading.
Asia wrapped up a largely grim session on Wednesday, with China the one notable exception as investors reacted to a plan outlined by Beijing.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 3.9% by closing, but the greatest losses were felt in Taiwan, where the Taiex plunged 5.8%.
Chinese and Hong Kong stocks, however, closed higher on Wednesday. The blue-chip CSI300 Index opened down but then clawed back losses to end 1% higher, while Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng index also closed up 0.7%.
“Risk assets have bounced on a white paper that suggests China is open to dialogue — though does not confirm US/China negotiations are under way and means further headline noise is inevitable,” Citi analysts said in a note.
The widespread volatility in Europe and Asia followed an even greater whipsaw in US markets on Tuesday.
That session saw the benchmark S&P 500 climb by more than 4% during the day amid investors’ hopes that negotiations could limit the damages caused by tariffs.
But the index ultimately closed down 1.6% — the first time since 1978 that it recorded such a dramatic reversal during a single session.
US stocks take another hit amid tariff standoff with ChinaTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
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Skip next section China vows to ‘fight’ as hefty US tariffs kick inApril 9, 2025
China vows to ‘fight’ as hefty US tariffs kick inChina declared its firm resolve to “fight till the end” in a trade war with Washington, after the United States’ hefty 104% tariffs on Chinese goods came into effect on Wednesday.
“With firm will and abundant means, China will resolutely take countermeasures and fight till the end if the United States insists on further escalating economic and trade restrictive measures,” Beijing’s Commerce Ministry said in a statement reported by Xinhua news agency.
At the same time, the statement added that there are “no winners in a trade war.”
“China does not want one, but the government will never allow the legitimate rights and interests of the Chinese people to be harmed or taken away.”
With tariffs over 100%, China is by far the country hardest hit by the Trump administration’s tariffs. Trump nearly doubled duties on Chinese imports, which had been set at 54% last week, in response to Chinese counter-tariffs of 34% on US goods levied last week.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian has accused the US of abusing “tariffs to pressure China,” condemning what he described as American “bullying.”
Meanwhile, China’s top leaders are reportedly meeting as early as Wednesday to prepare economic support measures to boost the economy and stabilize the capital markets, according to Reuters.
At the same time, a White Paper on trade with the US released on Wednesday by China said that economic friction between the two nations is normal, insisting that Beijing remains open to dialogue, Xinhua reported.
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Skip next section EU response to Trump’s tariffs: a delicate balanceApril 9, 2025
EU response to Trump’s tariffs: a delicate balanceTessa Clara Walther
European Union trade ministers met on Monday in Luxembourg, weeks ahead of schedule, to address the fallout from the tariffs imposed by the United States.
The emergency meeting followed US President Donald Trump’s announcement of sweeping 20% tariffs on nearly all EU exports, impacting goods valued over €532 billion ($585 billion) in 2024.
For the leaders the message was clear from the start: Europe will respond with both unity and determination, with Germany’s outgoing Economic Minister Robert Habeck underscoring the need for European solidarity.
A proposed €25.7 billion tariff package on US goods will be voted on Wednesday in response to the first round of US tariffs on aluminum and steel back in March.
Read more here.
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Skip next section Are Trump’s tariffs ‘reciprocal?’ April 9, 2025
Are Trump’s tariffs ‘reciprocal?’ Trump presented the tariffs during an event in the Rose Garden last weekImage: Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo/picture allianceUS President Donald Trump and his economic team have repeatedly insisted that the reciprocal tariffs are simply returning the same barriers that US exporters face when selling to the same countries.
However, a range of economists, banks and financial institutions have pointed out that the tariffs are not reciprocal and that the formula Trump’s team used to calculate them makes little economic sense.
Doug Irwin, a nonresident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and a renowned global trade expert, also says the tariffs are clearly not reciprocal for a number of reasons.
He told DW that a key point was that the formula used by the White House did not even take into account the levels of tariffs imposed by other countries, and simply took America’s trade deficit in goods with each country and then divided it by the amount of goods imported into the US from that country.
Data from the World Trade Organization (WTO) backs up the arguments made by several economists that Trump’s allegedly reciprocal tariffs will actually be far higher than most of those levied in the opposite direction.
Bill Reinsch, a senior economics adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), told DW that for more than 40 years, Trump has spoken about how he believes the US is being “ripped off” on global trade. He believes Trump genuinely wants to restructure global trade, which, however, has turned into a “revenge thing.”
“The problem with it is he really only has one metric, which is the bilateral trade deficit, and he really only has one tool, which is tariffs,” said Reinsch.
Read the full story here.
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Skip next section Trump’s sweeping tariffs come into effectApril 9, 2025
Trump’s sweeping tariffs come into effectUS President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs came into effect on Wednesday, including a massive 104% duty on Chinese goods.
The new levies also targeted imports from allies, such as the European Union and Japan, sparking fears of a global trade war, with Trump saying the target countries are “ripping off” the US.
The customized rates for nearly 60 economies supersede the 10% baseline duties that took effect over the weekend.
China, the main target, faces the heaviest impact.
In tit-for-tat tariff impositions, China announced last Friday 34% in additional tariffs on all goods imported from the US, starting Thursday, matching Trump imposing new levies of 34% on China.
Trump responded by adding another 50% duty after China’s countermeasures, slapping a total of 104% duties on Chinese goods.
The Trump administration says nations like Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam are open to negotiations, with Trump telling fellow Republicans at a dinner on Tuesday evening that countries were “dying” to make a deal.
“I’m telling you, these countries are calling us up kissing my ass,” he said.
The tariffs have rattled markets — wiping nearly $6 trillion off the S&P 500.
On Wednesday, Asian markets opened down again while China’s offshore yuan fell to an all-time low against the US dollar. Oil prices also slumped.
Meanwhile, Canada said that its tariffs on certain US auto imports will come into force Wednesday.
Recession fears fuel sell-off in global stocksTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
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Skip next section Markets slide on Tuesday, China vows ‘countermeasures’April 9, 2025
Markets slide on Tuesday, China vows ‘countermeasures’Wall Street suffered more losses on Tuesday as concerns over US President Donald Trump’s trade policies continued to spook investors with all three major indices closing in the red.
On Tuesday, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen spoke with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and stressed the need for stability in the global economy and avoiding “further escalation,” according to an EU readout.
Beijing has threatened to take “countermeasures to safeguard its own rights and interests,” in response to Trump’s total tariffs of 104% on Chinese products.
The Chinese Commerce Ministry said the “US threat to escalate tariffs on China is a mistake on top of a mistake.”
Meanwhile, European Union leaders scrambled to avoid a trade war with the US, as Trump imposes a 20% tariff on almost all imports from the bloc.
On Tuesday, the White House also had to step in to downplay a public spat between Elon Musk and a key Trump trade advisor, Peter Navarro.
Elon Musk took to X to call Navarro a “moron” who is “dumber than a sack of bricks.”
The public spat has shed light on a rift between key Trump aides over the US president’s decision to slap tariffs on nearly all trading partners.
https://p.dw.com/p/4srK5
Skip next section Welcome to our coverageApril 9, 2025
Welcome to our coverageShakeel Sobhan | Wesley Rahn
Trump’s tariffs have driven worldwide stocks sharply downwardImage: Daisuke Urakami/AP/picture allianceUS President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs — including a steep 104% duty on Chinese goods — took effect on Wednesday, escalating a global trade war ahead of upcoming talks with some nations.
The tariffs have rattled global markets, sparked recession fears, and disrupted a decades-old global trading order.
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