US Treasury defends raising China tariffs to 125%
Photo: Scott Bessent, US Treasury secretary (Getty Images)
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that China is positioning itself against the rest of the world while Washington is lowering tariffs for allies and raising them for Beijing, according to Fox Business.
At the same time, the US Treasury Secretary does not believe Washington is waging a trade war against China.
"China is the most imbalanced economy in the history of the modern world," Bessent told reporters on Wednesday. "They are the biggest source of the US trade problems, and indeed they are the problem for the rest of the world."
Speaking to the media on April 9, Bessent noted, "I'm not calling it a trade war, but I think that China has escalated, and President Trump responded very courageously to that, and we are going to work on a solution with our trading partner."
.@SecScottBessent: "I'm not calling it a trade war — but I'm saying that China has escalated and President Trump responded very courageously to that." pic.twitter.com/vzsd0229a6
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 9, 2025
At the same time, Bessent stated that more than 75 countries have reached out to the Trump administration to work on finding a trade solution, and he expects that number to grow even further.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick expressed similar sentiments, saying that China has “drifted away” from other nations by refusing to come to the table with the US to negotiate a new trade deal.
“The world is ready to work with President Trump to fix global trade, and China has chosen the opposite direction,” Lutnick wrote Wednesday on his X account.
Trump's tariff hike on China
On April 9, President Donald Trump announced he would lower recently imposed reciprocal tariffs for several countries while also announcing an immediate increase in tariffs on Chinese goods to 125%.
Additionally, on Wednesday, tariffs of 104% were imposed on Chinese imports to the US, prompting China to retaliate by raising tariffs on American goods from 34% to 84%.
Meanwhile, on April 9, US Treasury Secretary Bessent mocked China’s new tariffs. According to Washington, in this situation, Beijing finds itself in a losing position.
Bessent also added that the US has announced a 90-day pause on additional tariffs for other countries to conduct active negotiations.
