Trump will hit China with 104 percent tariffs

The US will impose a cumulative 104 percent tariff on goods imported from China after midnight tonight, alongside a host of tariffs on other countries, the White House confirmed to CNBC.

It’s one of the most staggering figures from President Donald Trump’s worldwide trade war launched last week. The Trump administration calls the tariffs part of an effort to get the US on even footing with trade partners, bring manufacturing jobs back to the US, and replace the existing tax structure. But critics on Wall Street and elsewhere say that thinking is flawed, and American consumers and businesses will be the ones in pain amid uncertainty and rising costs.

Even in comparison with the previously announced taxes on goods from other US trading partners, this tariff will have huge implications for many US businesses that manufacture or assemble at least parts of their products in China, including Apple and Tesla. Many economists say that price hikes are likely to be passed on to consumers. 

Trump initially planned to impose 34 percent tariffs on goods from China, on top of ones that he put in place earlier this year. This escalation comes after China imposed its own 34 percent tariff on US goods crossing into its borders. Trump threatened raising tariffs by 50 percent unless China removed its own, but the Chinese government has said it would stand firm on its tariffs, CNBC reports.