China strikes back with 125% tariffs on U.S. goods as trade war intensifies

[dalton99a]

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/11/china-strikes-back-with-125percent-tariffs-on-us-goods-starting-april-12.html

China strikes back with 125% tariffs on U.S. goods as trade war intensifies
Published Fri, Apr 11 2025 4:12 AM EDT

China on Friday retaliated against U.S. President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs by raising its levies on U.S. goods to 125% from 84%, the Chinese finance ministry said.

“Even if the U.S. continues to impose higher tariffs, it will no longer make economic sense and will become a joke in the history of world economy,” the ministry said in a statement, according to a CNBC translation.

“With tariff rates at the current level, there is no longer a market for U.S. goods imported into China,” the statement noted, adding that “if the U.S. government continues to increase tariffs on China, Beijing will ignore.”

The Trump administration confirmed to CNBC on Thursday that the U.S. tariff rate on Chinese imports now effectively totals 145%. Trump’s latest executive order boosted reciprocal tariffs on Beijing to 125%, stacked on top of a combined 20% fentanyl-related tariff imposed in February and March.

Hopes for a U.S.-China deal to resolve trade tensions have faded fast as Beijing has been hitting back in the last week with tit-for-tat duties on American goods and wide-ranging restrictions on U.S. businesses.

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https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/11/apple-left-without-life-raft-amid-trumps-china-trade-war-analysts-.html

Apple is left without a life raft as Trump’s China trade war intensifies, analysts warn
Published Fri, Apr 11 2025 2:17 AM EDT

Though U.S. President Donald Trump’s 90-day pause on many of his “reciprocal tariffs” has given some firms and investors respite, America’s largest company, Apple, hasn’t been so lucky.

The Cupertino-based tech giant is heavily reliant on supply chains in China, which has seen its levies only continue to ramp up, with the U.S.′ cumulative tariff rate on Chinese goods now standing at 145%.

“Apple could be set back many years by these tariffs,” Dan Ives, global head of technology research at Wedbush Securities, told CNBC, adding that the company had “had their boat flipped over in the ocean with no life rafts.”

The smartphone maker has been diversifying its supply chain from China for years, but out of the 77 million iPhones it shipped to the U.S. last year, nearly 80% came from China, according to data from Omdia.

The tech-focused research firm estimates that under current tariffs, Apple could be forced to increase its prices on phones sold to the U.S. from China by around 85% in order to maintain its margins.

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[OrlandoDem2]

1. Y'all need to close your wallet and hunker down to prepare for the coming Depression.

This is bad. Fuck that orange anus in the WH! How could Americans be so dumb?

[Amishman]

4. This strategy the pubs are pushing isn't necessarily suicidal - it's just insanely risky

China needs us as a trade partner as much as we rely on them.

Their economy is wobbling badly right now, with a $1.4 trillion relief package needed six months ago to shore up their local government debt crisis. Things haven't improved since.

They desperately need to maintain a steady flow of external capital and keep a high functioning economy to survive their current debt crisis. A hard recession would be a double whammy - defaults on bad debt (especially LGFVs) at the local level would force another, even larger federal bailout. This would happen at the same time as their currency would be plunging, deterring foreign buying of yuan denominated debt. China might be sitting on 3 trillion in foreign reserves, but the LGFV debt mountain alone is 4x more than that.

So there is a real chance China might blink.

The problem is this will be absolutely ruinous to our economy as well if it plays out. Trump's crew are betting China will flinch first and fast. It might every well happen.

But this is like going to a casino and betting your life savings on a single hand of poker. It might work out for you, but it's insanely risky and an appallingly bad idea.

[malaise]

2. Americans will buy their Apple phones outside of

The US

[MichMan]

3. Apple has a profit margin of 24%

They have been gouging consumers for years.

For comparison, Exxon profit margin is 9.6 %, Kroger is 2.2%, Ford is 5.5 % and Wal Mart is 2.85%

Apple could cut theirs in half and still make more than those companies.

[GusBob]

5. Heard around the Chinese dinner table

Eat your vegetables, there are kids starving in America

Speaking of a joke in the history of world economy