Thu Mar 06 00:20:00 UTC 2025: ## Trump’s Tariffs Spark North American Trade War Fears, Prompting Retaliation from China

**BEIJING, March 5, 2025 (AP)** — President Donald Trump’s announcement of 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, effective immediately, has sent shockwaves through global markets and ignited a fresh trade conflict. The move, which Trump declared unavoidable, sent U.S. stocks plummeting and prompted swift retaliation from China.

China responded by announcing new tariffs on a wide range of U.S. agricultural products, including soybeans, pork, beef, and chicken, adding a 15% levy to some goods and 10% to others. The tariffs, effective March 10th (with exemptions for goods already en route until April 12th), are a direct response to Trump’s earlier broad-based increase of tariffs on Chinese imports to 20%. This escalation marks a significant deepening of trade tensions between the two economic giants.

The Chinese government also took additional measures, suspending imports of U.S. lumber due to detected pests and revoking the import qualifications of three U.S. soybean companies due to contamination. Furthermore, ten U.S. companies were added to China’s “unreliable entity list,” restricting their business activities in China, while fifteen more were added to its export control list.

Chinese officials characterized the U.S. actions as “repaying kindness with enmity,” while acknowledging a degree of restraint on both sides in the latest round of tariffs. Analysts suggest that while the immediate outlook is bleak, the possibility of future negotiations between the U.S. and China remains open. However, the current atmosphere is described as unfavorable.

The new tariffs represent a significant blow to U.S. agricultural exports to China, which totaled $24.7 billion in 2024. While China has diversified its import sources in recent years, the impact of these latest tariffs is expected to be substantial. The long-term consequences of this escalating trade war remain uncertain, but the immediate effect is a renewed sense of instability in the North American and global economies.

Read More