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Reuters
9 minutes ago
- Reuters
Breakdown of U.S. tariffs on China since Trump's first term
BEIJING, June 12 (Reuters) - Billions of dollars of Chinese goods have been impacted by additional U.S. tariffs since 2018, initially under the first Donald Trump presidency and later under the Biden administration. Returning to the White House this year, Trump has imposed even more duties on China. The U.S. tariffs range from those imposed under Section 301 of its trade act due to what Washington claims are unfair Chinese trade practices, to duties under Section 232 levied for national security reasons. This year, Trump has imposed another 20% levies on all Chinese goods, saying Beijing has not done enough to stop the flow of fentanyl into the United States. So-called reciprocal tariffs, under which the U.S. will match duties imposed by other countries, have also been levied in a bid to rebalance trade flows. Below are the U.S. tariffs on China effective as of June 12, 2025: In September 2019, the U.S. imposed 15% tariffs on more than $120 billion of Chinese goods under Section 301, which it then halved to 7.5% less than six months later. The 25% U.S. tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese goods under the earlier List 1-3 remain unchanged. In September 2024, the U.S. Trade Representative under the Biden administration announced additional tariffs of 25-100% on 14 product groups following a four-year review of the Section 301 tariff actions. The levies were imposed on strategic Chinese sectors or sectors where the United States has made significant domestic investments. In addition to the above duties, the first Trump administration in 2018 imposed a range of tariffs under Section 232 aimed at restricting goods deemed a threat to national security, including all aluminium and steel imports, shutting most Chinese suppliers out of the U.S. market.
Telegraph
20 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Trump wants to sell America to China – but will they buy?
On Wednesday, a jubilant Donald Trump declared that his trade deal with Beijing would 'open up China to American Trade', delivering 'a great WIN for both countries!!!' Yet even as the US president trumpets victory, a chorus of Western companies has been warning that the spoils may be underwhelming. Cosmetics company Estee Lauder is grappling with 'retail softness, reflecting subdued consumer sentiment' in China. Drinks giant Diageo, which makes Guinness and Johnnie Walker, said 'consumers remain cautious and the macroeconomic recovery is taking longer than expected'. Unilever, the consumer goods giant behind Dove soap and Ben & Jerry's ice cream, told its shareholders that 'market growth in China remained subdued'. Burberry reported waning sales there, while KFC and Pizza Hut-owner Yum China said sales in the first quarter were flat. When Starbucks this week slashed the price of its tea lattes and Frappuccinos in China by almost one fifth, it was only the latest sign that trouble was brewing in China for big Western businesses. Trump wants Chinese consumers to buy more American goods, rebalancing what he sees as the lopsided trading relationship between the two countries. But the middle kingdom's economy is in a prolonged funk, reeling from a property crisis and a long hangover from harsh Covid restrictions. With lingering US tariffs of up to 55pc taking a chunk out of China's exports, recovery in the world's second-largest economy depends on the willingness of Chinese consumers to open their wallets and start spending. But unless companies cut prices, or the government steps in to boost demand, cautious Chinese consumers are at best spending selectively. Unlike China's gleaming motorways, the road to an economic rebound looks slow and uncertain – meaning Trump may well be disappointed. Ending the US president's anti-China crusade depends on the Chinese consumer taking out their wallets. It's the 'excess savings' of China's households, coupled with the excess spending of the American government and consumers, that lie at the heart of the pair's unbalanced economic relationship. In layman's terms, Chinese families save, while Americans buy – meaning China exports to the US far more than it imports. 'China has a singular opportunity to stabilise its economy by shifting away from excess production towards greater consumption,' Scott Bessent, the US treasury secretary, said on Wednesday. So far, there is little sign of the balance shifting. In a recent survey by McKinsey, Chinese households said they were not planning to increase how much they spend as a share of their income. (McKinsey saw this as progress; in the 2024 version of the survey, households had actually been planning to reduce consumption.) The survey found that rural dwellers were slightly more enthusiastic about shopping than their urban counterparts. That's unsurprising: it's in the cities where the scars of the property crisis, which began with the collapse of the developer Evergrande in 2021, are most acute. 'Property prices have fallen by around 20pc since the onset of the property crisis,' says Leah Fahy, a China analyst at Capital Economics. 'That has been a massive hit to household wealth and really dampened propensity to spend, and confidence as well.' 'And then more recently, you add all this tension around the trade war, what's going to happen with US tariffs. Even if the actual hit from that hasn't been massive yet.' Justin Koh, a Shanghai-based director at consultancy AlixPartners, says: 'When I first came to China about 15 years ago, there used to be an idea that everything would only go in one direction – up. People just thought sales would double every year. 'Now, the consumer companies we're working with are more pragmatic about growth. They're also very pragmatic about opening and closing stores, about what works and what doesn't work in the market.' Officially, China's economy is holding up, growing at 5.4pc in the first quarter from a year earlier. But the threat of a trade war looms over a country that still relies heavily on manufacturing. Exports to the US slumped by almost 35pc in April from a year earlier and China is struggling with deflation. Consumer prices dipped 0.1pc, the fourth consecutive month of decline, led by food and fuel. A survey by the EU Chamber of Commerce in China found that 83pc of food and beverage companies felt their business environment in the country was deteriorating. Many consumers seem to be looking for bargains, waiting for price decreases, or keeping their yuan in the bank or under the bed. Beijing has been encouraging people to spend, pushing them to buy more white goods by backing a trade-in scheme. It seems to have worked: according to the Xinhua news agency, it spurred 175bn renminbi (£18bn) of transactions this year, and 39pc year–on-year sales growth in April. But that would only be a drop in the ocean of what is required. It might stack a percentage point or two on to GDP growth, but Capital Economics reckons consumption might need to expand by 4pc to offset the hit from falling exports. Fahy says the government seems reluctant to wheel out the fiscal artillery needed to deliver this. 'You get a lot of lip service to the importance of supporting consumption, supporting demand, but they're really hesitant to expand things like social security measures, pension payments, welfare benefits – the things that are most needed to boost households' willingness to spend really and lower the savings rate,' she says. Worryingly for Trump, even if there is an upturn in consumer spending, Chinese may not choose to buy American products. 'There was probably more bargain hunting back in 2022, 2023 – confidence was lower, there was a very clear dip,' says Koh. 'I think this bargain-hunting helped consumers understand other [non-Western] brands a little bit better – they realised that, 'Hey, there might not be that much of a difference there.'' Chinese business news site Caixin says there has been an increase in promotions for 'repatriated foreign trade products' – items originally made to sell overseas that are now being sold at home. This includes marketing campaigns and exhibitions at supermarkets, department stores and shopping malls. Local brands are also gaining ground. Koh's 10-year-old daughter is wild for the Labubu dolls made by Chinese start-up Pop Mart, for example. 'They're the latest craze. If consumer confidence was at an all-time low, we'd likely be seeing less people buying them – less of that type of consumer behaviour,' he says. 'It's a sign of a more discerning consumer, and a consumer that's expressing his or her consumer confidence in different ways.' The ball is now in Beijing's court: the government needs to do more if it wants a consumer-led kickstart for the economy, and a fix for the US-China trade imbalances. Without action, Trump's 'great WIN' may turn into a disappointing loss.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
US tells embassy staff to evacuate in Iraq over fears Israel is ready to attack Iran, as trump warns 'it could be dangerous'
The United States has told embassy staff in Iraq to evacuate amid fears Israel could be poised to strike Iran within days, regardless of American support. Non-essential US embassy staff in Baghdad are set to leave due to heightened security risks, US government sources have warned without elaborating. President Donald Trump told media on Wednesday that 'they are being moved out because it could be a dangerous place and we'll see what happens'. Asked why family members of military personnel were allowed to voluntarily leave the region, he ominously replied: 'You'll have to see.' White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said that the decision was taken 'as a result of a recent review' by the State Department, without mentioning a possible attack. But fears of an Israeli attack on Iran have escalated dramatically in recent days, with delicate nuclear talks between Iran and the United States appearing to stall. Multiple sources told CBS that US officials have been warned that Israel is fully ready to launch an operation into Iran, having long opposed any deal. Trump acknowledged the perceived threat in comments on Wednesday, saying 'we are not going to allow' Iran to develop nuclear weapons. Iranian defence minister Aziz Nasirzadeh warned, meanwhile, that if talks do fail and 'a conflict is imposed on us', Iran 'will target all US bases in the host countries'. An Israeli fighter jet flies over southern Israel, Monday, May 5, 2025 Donald Trump spoke about the Iranian nuclear talks at the Kennedy Center yesterday A strike on Iran would disrupt the ongoing talks with the United States, now approaching their sixth round. Oman confirmed this morning that it would host the expected US-Iran talks in Muscat on Sunday. Israel is said to have become more serious about a strike on Iran as the talks approach a preliminary or framework agreement that includes provisions about uranium enrichment that Israel views as unacceptable, NBC reports, citing five people with knowledge of the situation. A lingering concern is that Iran could retaliate against US personnel or assets in the region for any action by Israel, the report notes. Sources told the outlet that they were not aware of any planned US involvement in the possible action. The US could - in theory - support Israel with aerial refuelling or intelligence sharing, rather than direct action against Iran, but the sources were not aware of plans for that, either. Israel has long been wary of any nuclear deal with Iran, and prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office says that Israel has conducted multiple operations to restrain Iran's nuclear programme. Israel is believed to have nuclear weapons already. Trump, who has already told Israel it would be 'inappropriate' to strike Iran as 'we're very close to a solution', is now waiting on Iran's response to its latest proposals. Tehran said on Monday it would present a counter-proposal on a nuclear deal, suggesting Washington's offer still contained 'ambiguities'. It is also seeking relief from sanctions. Iran and the US have been locked in a diplomatic standoff over Iran's uranium enrichment, with Tehran defending it as a 'non-negotiable' right and Washington describing it as a 'red line'. Iran assures that its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful. But the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, has not been able to verify this and in May published a damning report that claimed Iran had carried out secret nuclear activities with undeclared material. U.S defence secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday that there were 'plenty of indications' that Iran is moving towards developing a nuclear weapon, and political opponents of the regime claimed this week to have uncovered evidence that Tehran was intensifying efforts to acquire long-distance nuclear weapons. 'There are plenty of indications that they have been moving their way towards something that would look a lot like a nuclear weapon,' Hegseth said at a hearing on Wednesday. A US defence official said Hegseth authorised the voluntary departure of military dependants from locations across the Middle East. Non-essential personnel and their family members have been allowed to leave in Iraq, Bahrain and Kuwait - all sitting between Israel and Iran. The NCRI claimed to have identified a number of military sites in Semnan Province. Number 3 on the map is allegedly 'used for the development of nuclear warheads intended for installation on the liquid-fuel Simorgh missile'. Number 4 is said to show the Imam Reza Training Centre, 'where the development of nuclear warheads for the Ghaem-100 missile is being pursued'. In Israel, Netanyahu's hard-right government survived an opposition bid to dissolve parliament on Thursday, as lawmakers rejected a bill that could have paved the way for snap elections. Out of the Knesset's 120 members, 61 voted against the proposal, with 53 in favour. The opposition had introduced the bill hoping to force elections with the help of ultra-Orthodox parties in the governing coalition angry at Netanyahu over the contentious issue of exemptions from military service for their community. While the opposition is composed mainly of centrist and leftist groups, ultra-Orthodox parties that are propping up Netanyahu's government had earlier threatened to back the motion. The results of the vote Thursday morning, however, showed that most ultra-Orthodox lawmakers ultimately did not back the opposition bill, with just a small number voting in favour. The opposition will now have to wait six months before it can try again. Netanyahu faces criticism at home over Israel's conduct in the war in Gaza, conscription fears and the failure to return hostages taken into Gaza by Hamas after 21 months of war.
