China announces retaliatory 34% tariffs on US goods starting April 10 after Trump's trade move

China on Friday announced a slew of additional tariffs and restrictions against US goods as a countermeasure to sweeping tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump. The Finance Ministry said it would impose additional tariffs of 34% on all US goods from April 10.

It added the US tariffs on Chinese products are "not in line with international trade rules".

Beijing also announced controls on exports of medium and heavy rare-earths, including samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium, scandium and yttrium to the United States, effective April 4. It also added 11 entities to the "unreliable entity" list, which allows Beijing to take punitive actions against foreign entities.

"The purpose of the Chinese government's implementation of export controls on relevant items in accordance with the law is to better safeguard national security and interests, and to fulfill international obligations such as non-proliferation," the Commerce Ministry said in a statement.

However, shipments that leave their origin before the deadline and arrive by May 13, 2025, will not be subject to the additional tariffs.

"If the goods have been shipped from the place of departure before 12:01 on April 10, 2025, and are imported between 12:01 on April 10, 2025, and 24:00 on May 13, 2025, the additional tariffs prescribed in this announcement will not be levied," the State Council Tariff Commission said.

China hardest hit by Trump's tariff move

The move comes a day after Beijing urged Washington to withdraw its latest tariffs and warned of countermeasures to protect its own interests. "China firmly opposes this and will take countermeasures to safeguard its own rights and interests," the Commerce Ministry said, as tensions between the world's two largest economies threaten to escalate into a deeper trade war.

Trump had announced on Wednesday that China would face a 34 per cent tariff, adding to the 20 per cent duty imposed earlier this year. That makes China one of the hardest-hit countries on America's tariff list.

This brings the total new tariffs on Chinese imports to 54 per cent, edging closer to the 60 per cent rate he had floated during his presidential campaign.

Under the new US tariff structure, Chinese exporters-along with those from other economies-will be subject to a baseline tariff of 10 per cent on almost all goods shipped to the US starting Saturday. The remaining higher "reciprocal tariffs" will take effect from April 9.

Trump also signed an executive order closing a trade loophole known as "de minimis," which had allowed low-value packages from China and Hong Kong to enter the US duty-free.