China refuses to back down on tariffs after Trump threatened tougher measures
'If the U.S. insists on having its way, China will fight to the end,' China's commerce ministry said
Wall Street titans think Trump's tariff approach is a mistake: Charles Payne
'Making Money' host Charles Payne discusses Wall Street's interpretation of President Donald Trump's tariffs.
China is refusing to back down from President Donald Trump's "blackmail," as a global trade war sparked by Trump's new tariffs rages on.
This comes after Trump threatened to increase tariffs on U.S. imports from the Asian country to more than 100% if Beijing refuses to reverse its move to match the "reciprocal" duties announced last week by the American president.
Trump said he would impose an additional 50% duty on U.S. imports from China if Beijing did not drop the 34% tariffs it imposed on U.S. products last week, which would bring the total levies against China to 104%. Beijing retaliated after Trump announced 34% tariffs against China on top of the 20% already imposed against the country earlier this year.
CHINA RETALIATES WITH 34% TARIFFS ON US IMPORTS
China is refusing to back down from U.S. President Donald Trump's "blackmail," amid a global trade war sparked by Trump's new tariffs. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo / Reuters)
"The U.S. side's threat to escalate tariffs against China is a mistake on top of a mistake, once again exposing the American side's blackmailing nature," China's commerce ministry said.
"If the U.S. insists on having its way, China will fight to the end," it added.
Chinese manufacturers are warning about the impact on profits, looking into new overseas plants and haggling with customers over prices in response to the tariffs.
The Chinese people "do not provoke trouble, nor are we afraid of it," Lin Jian, a spokesperson for China's foreign ministry, said at a press conference, adding that "the Chinese people's legitimate right to development must not be deprived."
Lin Jian, spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said "the Chinese people's legitimate right to development must not be deprived." (Getty Images / Getty Images)
The Asian country has moved to shield its economy from global market turmoil in response to Trump's tariffs.
On Tuesday, China's state planner said it had met domestic private firms to hear suggestions on how to address the additional tariffs.
Although several state holding companies vowed to increase share investment, several listed companies announced buybacks and the central bank pledged liquidity support to fund Central Huijin after it intervened to support falling stocks.
President Donald Trump threatened to increase tariffs on U.S. imports from China to more than 100% if it refuses to reverse its move to match the "reciprocal" duties the U.S. president announced last week. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images / Getty Images)
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"If the tariffs keep going up and up, it becomes a battle of wills and principles rather than economics," said Xu Tianchen, senior economist for China at the Economist Intelligence Unit.
"Since China already faces a tariff rate in excess of 60%, it doesn't matter if it goes up by 50% or 500%," he added.
Reuters contributed to this report.