Trump’s threat, which he delivered on social media, came after China said it would retaliate against US tariffs he announced last week.
“If China does not withdraw its 34 per cent increase above their already long term trading abuses by tomorrow, April 8th, 2025, the United States will impose ADDITIONAL Tariffs on China of 50 per cent, effective April 9th,” he wrote on Truth Social.
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro suggested countries would need to do much more than simply lower their own tariff rates to reach deals, saying they would have to make structural changes to their tax and regulatory codes.
“Let’s take Vietnam,” he said on CNBC.Â
“When they come to us and say, ‘We’ll go to zero tariffs’, that means nothing to us because it’s the non-tariff cheating that matters.”
On Monday, Trump welcomed the Los Angeles Dodgers to the White House to celebrate their World Series victory. He’s also meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and they’re expected to hold a joint press conference in the afternoon.
Trump has strived for a united front after the chaotic infighting of his first term. However, the economic turbulence has exposed some fractures within his disparate coalition of supporters.
Bill Ackman, a hedge fund manager, lashed out at Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Sunday as “indifferent to the stock market and the economy crashing”.
He said Cantor Fitzgerald, the financial firm led by Lutnick before he joined the Trump administration, stood to profit because of bond investments.
On Monday, Ackman apologised for his criticism but reiterated his concerns about Trump’s tariffs.
“I am just frustrated watching what I believe to be a major policy error occur after our country and the president have been making huge economic progress that is now at risk due to the tariffs,” he wrote on X.
Top White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett told Fox News Channel that Ackman should “ease off the rhetoric a little bit”.
He insisted that other countries, not the US, are “going to bear the brunt of the tariffs”.
Billionaire Elon Musk, a top adviser to Trump on overhauling the federal government, expressed scepticism about tariffs over the weekend. Musk has said that tariffs would drive up costs for Tesla, his electric automaker.
“I hope it is agreed that both Europe and the United States should move ideally in my view to a zero tariff situation, effectively creating a free trade zone between Europe and North America,” Musk said in a video conference with Italian politicians.
He added, “That certainly has been my advice to the president”.
Navarro later told Fox News that Musk “doesn’t understand” the situation.
“He sells cars,” Navarro said. “That’s what he does.”Â
He added that, “He’s simply protecting his own interests as any business person would do”.
