President Donald Trump pledged Friday that his tariff policy is working and will benefit the United States and the world, despite China hiking tariffs on US goods to 125 percent in a deepening trade war.
Traumatized stock markets seesawed, the dollar tumbled and US government bonds faced renewed pressure after Beijing’s retaliation intensified the confrontation between the world’s two biggest economies.
In a message Friday on social media, Trump continued to insist that “we are doing really well on our tariff policy.”
“Very exciting for America, and the World!!! It is moving along quickly,” he wrote.
U.S. President Donald Trump holds up a chart of “reciprocal tariffs” while speaking during a “Make America Wealthy Again” trade announcement event in the Rose Garden at the White House on April 2, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by CHIP SOMODEVILLA / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
Trump sent global financial markets into a tailspin by announcing sweeping import taxes on dozens of countries last week, only to abruptly roll them back to 10 percent on Wednesday — although hiking them for China.
But the subsequent bounce in the markets has faded with the realization that the Washington-Beijing trade war is still spiraling.
Chinese President Xi Jinping gave his first major comments on the tensions on Friday, with state media quoting him as saying his country was “not afraid.”
Xi also said the European Union and China should “jointly resist unilateral bullying practices” during talks with Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
FILE: Container trucks arrive at the Port of Los Angeles on June 18, 2019 in San Pedro, California, where the US-China trade war has created logistical havoc on the docks following a months-long surge if imports in anticipation of higher tariffs.Frederic J. BROWN