In a news conference this morning, China has accused the US of “economic bullying” after Donald Trump’s latest tariffs threat. Meanwhile, a report says Elon Musk asked Trump to reverse his tariffs. Follow the latest and listen to the Trump 100 podcast as you scroll.
Tuesday 8 April 2025 08:57, UK
By Helen-Ann Smith, Asia correspondent
The severity cannot be overstated, if an additional 50% tariffs are levied on all Chinese goods it will decimate trade between the world’s two biggest economies.
Remember, 50% would sit on top of what is already on the table – 34% announced last week, 20% announced at the start of Donald Trump’s term and some additional tariffs left over from his first term in office.
In total, it means all Chinese goods would face tariffs of over 100%, some as high as 120%.
It’s a price that makes any trade almost impossible.
China is really the only nation in the world at the moment that is choosing to take a stand. While others are publicly making concessions and sending delegations to negotiate, China has clearly calculated that not being seen to be bullied is worth the cost that retaliation will bring.
Drawbacks for Beijing
The real question, though, is if the US does indeed impose this extra 50% tomorrow, what China could or would do next. It has said it will “fight to the end”, but what does that mean?
In reality, there are few good options.
There are some obvious measures China will almost certainly enact. 
Further export controls on rare earth minerals (crucial for the development of high-tech products) is one example.
China controls a huge proportion of the world’s supply, but the US would likely find workarounds in time. 
Hiking tariffs on high-impact US products such as agricultural goods is another option, but there is only so far this could go.
The potentially more impactful options have significant drawbacks for Beijing. 
Precedent fears
It could, for instance, target high-profile US companies such as Apple and Tesla, but this isn’t ideal at a time when China is trying to attract more foreign investment, and some devaluation of the currency is possible, but it would also come with adverse effects.
Other options are more political and come with the risk of escalation beyond the economic arena.
In an opinion piece this morning, the editor of Xinhua, China’s state news agency, speculated that China could cease all cooperation with the US on the war against fentanyl.
This has been a major political issue for Trump, and it’s hard to see it would not constitute some sort of red line for him.
Other options touted include banning the import of US films, or perhaps calling for the Chinese public to boycott all US products.
Anything like this comes with a sense that the world’s two most powerful superpowers might be teetering on the edge of not just a total economic de-coupling, but cultural separation too.
There is understandably serious nervousness about how that could spiral and the precedent it sets.
Some companies have chosen to pause shipments to the US due to Donald Trump’s tariffs. 
A baseline 10% tariff was imposed on goods entering the US last week, with some countries facing tariffs as high as 50%. 
Many producers are eagerly hoping that deals for lower tariffs will be made and have stopped their products entering the US while they wait to see what happens. 
Here are some of the goods that have been affected… 
Land Rovers, Range Rovers and Jaguars 
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has said it will “pause” shipments to the US as the British car firm works to “address the new trading terms” of the tariffs. 
A 25% levy has been imposed on all foreign cars imported into the country. 
JLR, one of the UK’s biggest carmakers, exported about 38,000 cars to the US in the third quarter of 2024 – almost equal to the amount sold to the UK and the EU combined.
A spokesperson for the company said: “The USA is an important market for JLR’s luxury brands.
“As we work to address the new trading terms with our business partners, we are taking some short-term actions including a shipment pause in April, as we develop our mid- to longer-term plans.”
Nintendo Switch 2
Nintendo has reportedly paused shipping pre-orders of its new Switch 2 to the US. 
The games console is made in Japan, which is now facing a 24% tariff. 
In a statement to The Verge, Nintendo said orders will not be delivered as planned as the company is assessing the “potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions”. 
The Switch 2 is due to launch in June.
Tonka Trucks, Care Bears and other toys
Toy company Basic Fun told the New York Post that it was halting the shipment of all its toys made in China. 
Trump imposed a 20% tariff on China earlier this year but he revealed an additional 34% rate last week, before threatening to pile on an extra 50% if China did not withdraw its 34% retaliatory tariff. 
So, all in all, Trump’s tariffs could reach a 104% level on Beijing if he sticks to his threat.
Basic Fun, which makes toys such as Tonka Trucks, Care Bears, K’Nex and Lincoln Logs, said the potential tariff rate would be “impossible” for them to cope with. 
“I cannot risk putting any product on the water that might incur [high] tariffs as implemented and threatened by the president,”  Jay Foreman, chief executive of Basic Fun, told the news outlet. 
By Sarah Taaffe-Maguire, business and economics reporter 
Could the worst be over?
We’re a long way from a recovery after three days of steep losses, but the UK’s benchmark stock market index, the FTSE 100, is rising again ever so slightly. It’s opened with a 0.91% rise.
So too is the larger FTSE 250 index, comprised of more companies operating in the UK. It’s grown 1.22%. 
By Sarah Taaffe-Maguire, business and economics reporter 
Nothing has changed, but the picture is vastly different today.
Taking a broad look at Asia markets, it’s a mix of rises and falls.
Japan’s Nikkei stock index – which suffered some of the largest loses of the past few days – has gained 6%.
Korea’s Kospi crept up just 0.28%. Both indexes contain major car makers that are going to take a hammering from Trump’s 25% car and car part tariffs.
Judging by out-of-hours trading, US and European markets will also recover some losses today. 
Billionaire Elon Musk asked Donald Trump directly to reverse his tariffs over the weekend, according to the Washington Post. 
Citing two sources, the news outlet said the exchange marks the highest profile disagreement between the Tesla CEO and US president.
Musk’s pleas followed Trump’s unveiling of a 10% baseline tariff on all imports to the US and higher duties on dozens of other countries last week. 
Musk, who also heads the US Department of Government Efficiency, has previously called for zero tariffs between the US and Europe. 
His car company Tesla has seen its quarterly sales drop sharply amid a backlash against his role as a Trump adviser.
Its shares were trading at $233.29 as of its last close yesterday, down over 42% since the beginning of the year.
Musk has previously said that the impact of car tariffs on Tesla is “significant.”
Yesterday, we covered how Musk shared a video on X in support of free trade, in a not-so-subtle sign of his disagreement with the president. Read about that here.
China’s foreign ministry has accused the US of “economic bullying” and “destabilising” the world’s economies. 
In a news briefing, which you can watch in our previous post, a spokesperson for the ministry said America’s “abuse” of tariffs “seriously infringes” on the interests of countries around the world. 
“China strongly deplores and firmly opposes this. Let me stress once again that trade wars have no winners,” Lin Jian told reporters. 
“The Chinese people never create trouble nor do we fear trouble. Extorting China is not the right way to engage with us.” 
He said China will do what is “necessary to firmly safeguard its legitimate and lawful rights and interests”. 
“If the US insists on waging the tariffs war and trade war regardless of the interest of both countries and the international community, China will play along to the end,” Jian added. 
Jian’s message echoed Beijing’s line overnight about fighting to the end (see 6.20am post).
For context: The Trump administration had already imposed 20% tariffs on China earlier this year but Trump revealed an additional 34% rate in the White House Rose Garden last Wednesday evening.
Then, yesterday, the US president threatened to put an extra 50% tariff on China if it did not withdraw its 34% retaliatory tariff. 
So, all in all, Trump’s tariffs could reach a 104% level on Beijing if he sticks to his threat.
China’s foreign ministry is holding its daily news briefing in Beijing this morning after Donald Trump threatened to increase his tariffs on the country. 
China has vowed to “fight to the end” against the taxes, which Trump has said could rise as high as 104% if the nation does not withdraw its 34% tariff on US goods. 
The US president said Beijing had until the end of today to remove the retaliatory tariff. 
You can watch the briefing live in the video below and will bring you all the key updates. 
By Mark Stone, US correspondent 
When Benjamin Netanyahu was asked at the weekend by Donald Trump to come immediately to Washington, he surely expected it was because Trump was going to relent on the 17% tariff he’d whacked on Israel a few days earlier. 
Israeli officials hinted as much to me.
It looked like Israel would be the test case for the rest of the world. 
After all, the Israeli prime minister had already said his government would scrap all tariffs and trade barriers it has on American trade into Israel.
And so, in capitals around the world, they watched the Oval Office news conference.
Trump began by inviting Netanyahu to tell the world what his country was going to do for the US.
On cue, Netanyahu reiterated his offer for the world to hear.
“We will eliminate the deficit and the trade barriers that have been put up unnecessarily,” Netanyahu said to Trump with deference. He added: “It serves as a model for other countries.”
It was a fair expectation the American president would offer something in return. But no.
Trump went on to weave through numerous issues from Iran to Gaza. But no mention of removing or reducing the stinging 17% tariff on Israel.
The prime minister will be questioned by senior MPs over the market turmoil caused by Donald Trump’s tariffs today. 
Sir Keir Starmer will hold a Cabinet meeting this morning before heading to parliament to appear before the Liaison Committee. 
The UK has been hit by a 10% tariff on goods entering the US, along with a 25% tariff on cars and separate import taxes on steel and aluminium. 
It has been arguing its case for a carve out from the trade tax on goods going into the US.
Starmer has warned the tariffs were “not a passing phase” as he visited Jaguar Land Rover’s West Midlands plant yesterday, but urged workers at the carmaker to remain calm.
You can read more about this and all the latest news from Westminster in our Politics Hub…
Asian markets have opened higher this morning after seeing serious falls yesterday. 
Japan’s Nikkei 225 share benchmark was up 6% after falling nearly 8% a day earlier and the broader Topix traded 6.8% higher.
The US semiconductor index climbed 2.7% overnight, while the S&P and Nasdaq futures each rose more than 1% in Asia trade.
South Korea’s Kospi gained 2% and markets in Australia and New Zealand were also higher.
Asian markets had plunged yesterday, with stocks in Hong Kong falling 13.2% in their worst day since 1997 during the Asian financial crisis.
Beijing has publicly stepped up efforts to stabilise the market after Donald Trump slapped a 34% tariff on China last week.
China has since responded with 34% levies on US imports. 
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