(Source: Yujian News 2025-04-17)
Since April 15th, Eastern Time, the White House website of the United States has announced that due to China’s countermeasures against U.S. tariffs, China is currently facing tariffs of up to 245%. Since April 2, the Trump administration in the United States has wielded the tariff stick, and the comprehensive tax rate on Chinese goods exported to the United States has been increased. From 10% to 20%, then to 54%, and then to 104%, 125%, and 254%.Tariffs are increasing layer by layer. Why does the United States provoke a tariff war?Faced with unusually high tariffs, China continues to counterattack. What "combination punches" are thrown?In the storm, how should Chinese export companies protect themselves and break out?Exclusive interview with "Yujian News"Tu Xinquan, Dean of the China World w88 Organization (WTO) Research Institute at the w88 casino。
Ikumi Shimbun: The United States clearly knows that launching a tariff war may bring backlash and other consequences, so why does it insist on doing so?
Tu Xinquan: On the one hand, Trump is obsessed with revitalizing the U.S. manufacturing industry. He believes that the relative decline of the U.S. manufacturing industry endangers national security, and firmly believes that imposing additional tariffs can help the U.S. manufacturing industry re-develop. On the other hand, he has the delusion that the United States is powerful and that other countries will surrender to the United States and agree to all its conditions after imposing tariffs.
Ikumi News: On April 11, the United States increased tariffs to 125% and exempted more than 20 products such as mobile phones and computers. What is the reason?
Tu Xinquan: The reshoring or revitalization of the U.S. manufacturing industry is a complex process, and domestic production capacity cannot meet demand. The imposition of high tariffs on Chinese goods has led to a significant increase in the prices of goods imported from China, especially consumer electronics products, which are unaffordable for American consumers. At the same time, China’s resolute countermeasures caught Trump by surprise, so the U.S. took the initiative to lower tariffs on goods that China is highly dependent on to calm domestic inflation concerns and consumer dissatisfaction.
Ikumi Shimbun: The tariffs have risen to 125%, and China has said that it will “ignore” the U.S. if it continues to impose additional tariffs. What does this mean?
Tu Xinquan: It can be understood that this "rarely high tariff" in history has made the possibility of U.S. goods entering the Chinese market on commercial terms almost zero. Continuing to impose additional tariffs has no practical significance and is just a numbers game. "Ignore" means that China will no longer follow the US in imposing additional tariffs on US imported goods, but if the US takes other measures that harm Chinese exports, China will still take new countermeasures.
Ikumi Shimbun: Why are rare earth export controls and WTO litigation key strategies in China’s previous countermeasures, and what are their impacts?
Tu Xinquan:China firmly supports the WTO multilateral trading system. The U.S. has seriously violated WTO rules by provoking a tariff war. The lawsuit filed with the WTO is to prove that the U.S. is wrong. Although the WTO dispute settlement mechanism is not binding, it is a necessary measure to fight for a just voice. The United States is highly dependent on China for some key minerals. Rare earths are vital to high-tech and military products, and China is the largest exporter and has mastery of refining technology. Implementing rare earth export controls can curb the development of US downstream industries from the upstream.
Ikumi Shimbun: Why are rare earth export controls and WTO litigation key strategies in China’s previous countermeasures, and what are their impacts?
Tu Xinquan: It is possible. Decoupling from China is the consensus of quite a few politicians in the United States. The U.S. government has been promoting relevant policies since Trump came to power. Although it is subject to real economic constraints, the imposition of high tariffs this time has brought China-U.S. w88 in goods to zero, which is a big step in decoupling. However, China and the United States are still connected in terms of service w88, investment, intellectual property rights, and personnel movements. The decoupling of goods w88 will also affect these areas. We need to continue to observe the attitude of the U.S. government in the future.
Ikumi Shimbun: Why are rare earth export controls and WTO litigation key strategies in China’s previous countermeasures, and what are their impacts?
Tu Xinquan: If high tariffs continue, Sino-US w88 in goods will basically be cleared. For Chinese export companies, more than US$520 billion in exports to the United States each year will disappear, and related companies and industries will suffer a greater impact. However, as the world's second largest economy, China has some room to absorb the impact of reduced exports, but the impact will be obvious in the short term.
Ikumi Shimbun: Will the protracted w88 war accelerate the regional reorganization of the global industrial chain?
Tu Xinquan: Yes. If Sino-US w88 is completely decoupled, and the United States increases tariffs on other countries, it will inevitably lead to adjustments in global w88 flows, supply chains, and industrial chains. Sino-US industrial ties will be significantly reduced, Chinese industries will strengthen cooperation with other countries, and the global industrial chain will eventually form a new balance. However, the United States has huge demand for the international market, and China's industrial chain can also indirectly export to the United States through cooperation with other countries. Complete decoupling between China and the United States is unrealistic.
Ikumi Shimbun: What are the main commodities imported from the United States, and what is the degree of dependence?
Tu Xinquan: There are two main categories of commodities imported from the United States. One is raw materials and bulk commodities, agricultural products, including oil and natural gas, etc.; the other is high-precision manufactured products and industrial products, such as cars, aircraft, chips, medicines, medical equipment, etc. Some products are highly dependent on the United States, such as AI computing chips, but there are also industrial chain cooperations and manufacturing may not be in the United States. Although a large number of commodities such as large aircraft are currently imported from the United States, they are not entirely without substitutes. In general, commodities imported from the United States are highly substitutable, but it will take time to find substitutes for some commodities.
Ikumi News: China’s domestic demand has contributed 70% to economic growth. Is there still potential for expansion and how to expand?
Tu Xinquan: Domestic demand has the potential to expand. Domestic demand includes consumption and investment. China's economy has been highly dependent on investment in the past, and the proportion of final consumption in GDP is relatively low, which lags behind many countries. Over-reliance on investment can easily lead to overcapacity, so to expand domestic demand, we need to pay attention to consumer demand. Governments at all levels are currently taking a variety of measures to expand domestic consumer demand.
Ikumi Shimbun: What impact will the w88 war have on the general public? What preparations should the Chinese and American public make?
Tu Xinquan: American consumers have been hit even harder. China’s exports of consumer electronics, textiles and clothing are necessities for American consumers. The U.S.’s imposition of high tariffs has caused American consumers to face a significant increase in prices. On the other hand, Chinese consumers are generally less dependent on U.S. goods. Most of their imports from the U.S. are bulk commodities or parts. The volume of final consumer goods is small, and they are less directly affected by the Sino-U.S. w88 war. U.S. consumers are rushing to buy consumer electronics products, while Chinese consumers are not greatly affected by the w88 war in terms of consumption and shopping. From the perspective of producers, China's exports to the United States are restricted, and the income of related companies and employees are at risk.
Ikumi Shimbun: What should the ideal economic and w88 relationship between China and the United States be like, and how to find a new balance point in competition?
Tu Xinquan: The white paper on Sino-US economic and w88 relations released by the Chinese government shows that Sino-US economic and w88 relations are generally balanced and both sides have benefited from it. However, the United States has a misunderstanding and views Sino-US relations as a zero-sum game. In the future, if China and the United States can negotiate on an equal footing, they can find more ways and paths to expand economic and w88 relations. For example, expanding China's investment in U.S. manufacturing can not only address some of the United States' concerns, but also promote better interaction and exchanges in Sino-U.S. economic and w88 relations.
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