ESCALATING

Trump Rages as China Strikes Back With Major Trade War Retaliation

“CHINA PLAYED IT WRONG,” the president thundered in an all-caps screed.

Donald Trump fired off a furious response to the news that China is retaliating to his trade war by slapping 34 percent tariffs on all goods imported from the U.S. “CHINA PLAYED IT WRONG, THEY PANICKED - THE ONE THING THEY CANNOT AFFORD TO DO!” the president posted on his Truth Social platform Friday morning. China’s Ministry of Commerce said its tariffs would go into effect on April 10—the day after Trump’s 34 percent tariffs on Chinese imports to the U.S. will take hold. Beijing denounced Trump’s measures as “a typical unilateral bullying move” by the U.S. government and said the move “does not comply with the rules of international trade and seriously damages the legitimate rights and interest of China.” The chaos in global markets continued Friday as Trump’s trade war spiraled, with the S&P 500 plunging 2.5 percent in early trading. The slide comes after the benchmark U.S. index on Thursday saw its worst single-day loss since the COVID pandemic in 2020.