Following the imposition of sweeping 10 percent tariffs have rocked the global economy since coming into force over the weekend, rates on imports to the United States from exporters like the European Union or Japan rose further at 12.01 am (0401 GMT) Wednesday.
China -- Washington's top economic rival but also a major trading partner -- is the hardest hit, with tariffs imposed on its products since Trump returned to the White House now reaching a staggering 104 percent.
Trump said Tuesday his government was working on "tailored deals" with trading partners, with the White House saying it would prioritize allies like Japan and South Korea.
His top trade official Jamieson Greer also told the Senate that Argentina, Vietnam and Israel were among those who had offered to reduce their tariffs.
Trump told a dinner with fellow Republicans on Tuesday night that countries were "dying" to make a deal.
"I'm telling you, these countries are calling us up kissing my ass," he said.
But Beijing has shown no signs of standing down, vowing to fight a trade war "to the end" and promising countermeasures to defend its interests.
China's retaliatory tariffs of 34 percent on US goods are due to enter in force on Thursday.
The US president believes his policy will revive America's lost manufacturing base by forcing companies to relocate to the United States.
But many business experts and economists question how quickly -- if ever -- this can take place, warning of higher inflation as the tariffs raise prices.
Trump said Tuesday the United States was "taking in almost $2 billion a day" from tariffs.
- China 'wants to make a deal' -
He originally unveiled a 34 percent additional tariff on Chinese goods.
But after China countered with its own tariff of the same amount on American products, Trump piled on another 50 percent duty.
Counting existing levies imposed in February and March, that would take the cumulative tariff increase for Chinese goods during Trump's second presidency to 104 percent.
Trump has insisted the ball was in China's court, saying Beijing "wants to make a deal, badly, but they don't know how to get it started."
Late Tuesday, Trump also said the United States would announce a major tariff on pharmaceuticals "very shortly".
Separately, Canada said that its tariffs on certain US auto imports will come into force Wednesday.
- China 'confident' -
After trillions in equity value were wiped off global bourses in the last days, markets in Asia opened down again on Wednesday, with Hong Kong plunging more than three percent and Japan's Nikkei sinking 2.7 percent.
The foreign exchange markets also witnessed ructions, with the South Korean won falling to its lowest level against the dollar since 2009 this week.
China's offshore yuan also fell to an all-time low against the US dollar, as Beijing's central bank moved to weaken the yuan on Wednesday for what Bloomberg said was the fifth day in a row.
Oil prices slumped, with the West Texas Intermediate closing below $60 for the first time since April 2021.
The European Union has sought to cool tensions, with the bloc's chief Ursula von der Leyen warning against worsening the trade conflict in a call with Chinese Premier Li Qiang.
She stressed stability for the world's economy, alongside "the need to avoid further escalation," said an EU readout.
The Chinese premier told von der Leyen that his country could weather the storm, saying it "is fully confident of maintaining sustained and healthy economic development."
The EU -- which Trump has criticized bitterly over its tariff regime -- may unveil its response next week to new 20 percent levies it faces.
In retaliation against US steel and aluminum levies that took effect last month, the EU plans tariffs of up to 25 percent on American goods ranging from soybeans to motorcycles, according to a document seen by AFP.
- 'Tailored deals' -
Wall Street's major indices closed lower Tuesday, with the broad-based S&P 500 falling 1.6 percent.
In one public sign of friction over tariffs, key Trump ally Elon Musk described senior White House trade advisor Peter Navarro as "dumber than a sack of bricks."
Musk, who has signaled his opposition to Trump's trade policy, hit out after Navarro described his Tesla company as "a car assembler" that wants cheap foreign parts.
EU chief urges China to avoid 'escalation' over US tariffs
Brussels, Belgium (AFP) April 8, 2025 -
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen warned against escalating a trade standoff sparked by sweeping US tariffs during a phone call with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Tuesday, the European Commission said.
Speaking with Li after Beijing vowed to "fight to the end" against fresh tariffs threatened by Trump, von der Leyen stressed the "vital importance of stability" for the world's economy.
"The President called for a negotiated resolution to the current situation, emphasising the need to avoid further escalation," said a readout of the call issued by Brussels.
Trump has upended the world economy with sweeping tariffs that have raised the spectre of an international recession, ruling out any pause in his aggressive trade policy despite a dramatic market sell-off.
Beijing -- Washington's major economic rival but also a key trading partner -- responded by announcing its own 34 percent duties on US goods to come into effect on Thursday, deepening a showdown between the world's two largest economies.
Li told von Leyen that the world's second-largest economy had the "tools" to handle headwinds, according to state news agency Xinhua.
"China's macroeconomic policy this year takes full account of various uncertainties and has a sufficient reserve of policy tools," he said.
"China can fully hedge against adverse external effects, and is fully confident of maintaining sustained and healthy economic development."
China's swift retaliation to Washington's measures sparked a fresh warning from Trump that he would impose additional levies if Beijing refused to stop pushing back -- a move that would drive the overall levies on Chinese goods to 104 percent.
"In response to the widespread disruption caused by the US tariffs, President von der Leyen stressed the responsibility of Europe and China, as two of (the) world's largest markets, to support a strong reformed trading system, free, fair and founded on a level playing field," the EU commission said.
Brussels has so far refrained from hitting back at the sweeping 20 percent tariffs ordered by Trump on the bloc's imports, though it is readying a package of retaliation to earlier metals tariffs imposed by Washington.
EU states Monday rallied behind a push to avert an all-out trade war through negotiations with Washington.
Von der Leyen said Monday the EU had offered the United States a bilateral tariff exemption for cars and other industrial goods, which Trump later deemed insufficient.
In her Tuesday call with Li, the German politician also addressed European fears that US tariffs will lead to Chinese goods flooding into the 27-nation bloc.
"Von der Leyen emphasised China's critical role in addressing possible trade diversion caused by tariffs, especially in sectors already affected by global overcapacity," the readout said.
"The leaders discussed setting up a mechanism for tracking possible trade diversion and ensuring any developments are duly addressed."
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