President Trump is now threatening Communist China with additional tariffs after the country’s state tariff commission announced a 34 percent tax on imports from the United States. China has said it will not stand for “protectionism” or “economic bullying.”

The Chinese announced the additional tariffs over the weekend after Mr. Trump ratcheted up total tariffs on their goods to more than 50 percent. The total tariff rate China now faces is 54 percent, though the president says he is prepared to go higher if China does not rescind its action. 

“Any country that Retaliates against the U.S. by issuing additional Tariffs, above and beyond their already existing long term Tariff abuse of our Nation, will be immediately met with new and substantially higher Tariffs, over and above those initially set,” Mr. Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Monday. 

“If China does not withdraw its 34% increase above their already long term trading abuses by tomorrow, April 8th, 2025, the United States will impose ADDITIONAL Tariffs on China of 50%, effective April 9th,” he added, meaning that the new total tariff rate for Chinese goods would be 104 percent. 

Mr. Trump said in his statement that he will not speak to any Chinese officials about his threat. China has said that Mr. Trump’s path is a “dead end” that will lead to unnecessary pain for American and Chinese citizens alike. 

“This is a typical act of unilateralism, protectionism and economic bullying. Under the guise of ‘reciprocity’ and ‘fairness,’ the United States is playing a zero-sum game to pursue in essence ‘America First’ and ‘American exceptionalism,’” China’s foreign ministry said in a statement. “It attempts to exploit tariffs to subvert the existing international economic and trade order and put U.S. interests above the common good of the international community.”

Mr. Trump has claimed that foreign leaders are banging down his door to talk with him about the ten percent global tariff that he imposed, along with the country-specific taxes levied based on each respective country’s trade surpluses with the United States. He says he has already had productive discussions with officials in Vietnam, where there is a large manufacturing industry used by American companies. 

Following the turmoil in the Asian markets on Sunday, Mr. Trump spoke with Prime Minister Ishiba of Japan. The prime minister seemed to show no interest in playing Mr. Trump’s tariff game, however, according to a readout of the call provided by Japanese officials on Monday. 

“Prime Minister Ishiba stated that Japan has been the world’s largest investor in the U.S. for five consecutive years, expressed strong concerns that the tariff measures by the U.S. could weaken investment capacity among Japanese companies, and conveyed his view that the two countries should pursue ways to promote broader cooperation that benefits both Japan and the United States,” Mr. Ishiba’s office said. 

The prime minister told the president that their two countries should be working “in a mutual manner, including enhancement of investment, rather than imposing tariffs.”

After the call between the president and the prime minister, Treasury Secretary Bessent said he would be “opening negotiations” with the Japanese to discuss tariffs and non-tariff trade barriers. 

Other countries impacted by Mr. Trump’s trade barriers are publicly declaring their willingness to work with the White House as well. On Monday, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said the bloc is ready to move forward with zeroing out tariffs on certain products. She warned, however, that “countermeasures” were at her disposal if she couldn’t come to an agreement with the Trump administration. 

“We have offered zero-for-zero tariffs for industrial goods, as we have successfully done with many other trading partners, because Europe is always ready for a good deal, so we keep it on the table,” she said Monday.