How Is China Responding to US Tariffs?

A 10% tariff on Chinese origin goods, prescribed by President Trump in an Executive Order (EO) on February 1, went into effect on February 4, 2025. The same EO directed that Chinese goods would not be eligible for importation under the de minimus administrative exemption allowing duty-free entry for shipments under $800 USD.  Collectively, these measures constitute an enormous increase of duties on goods imported from China, impacting US importers and Chinese exporters alike.  

Given the impact these measures will have on China, retaliation from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) would hardly be surprising. Sure enough, on February 4, 2025, the PRC announced it would be implementing tariffs against US energy products: imports of coal, liquified natural gas (LNG), and crude oil, as well as against agricultural machinery and certain cars. Additionally, the PRC will be implementing export controls on several key mineral resources – tungsten, tellurium, bismuth, molybdenum, and indium – as well as initiating an antitrust investigation of Google and ruling against previously investigated  global fashion corporation PVH Corp and putting them on the Unreliable Entries List. 

On the one hand, these measures were designed to hit the US where it hurts most, e.g. energy exports and imports of key minerals used in technical manufacturing, but even so, they are hardly proportional to the US’s sweeping sanctions. At the time of writing, Presidents Trump and Xi have not yet spoke about the tariffs, but hints from the white house indicate it will happen very soon. This may be why the PRC’s tariffs are not set to take effect until Monday, Feb 10th, in the event China and the US can resolve their differences before then.  

The tariffs against Mexico and Canada were postponed until March 4, 2025 less than 24 hours before they were slated to take effect. It remains to be seen whether the Trump administration will be willing to treat similarly with China, given the different relationships between the US and its USMCA partners versus with China, but US importers won’t be caught off guard if they prepare for further sudden and/or substantial changes to US trade policy as events unfold.  

Allyn International’s service suite includes consultation on current and developing issues in the US trade community. Reach Allyn here for a consultation or, contact us sales@allynintl.com or 239-489-9900. 

Contributor: Andrew Dosher

---

About Allyn International 

Allyn International is dedicated to providing high quality, customer centric services and solutions for the global marketplace. Allyn's core products include transportation management, logistics sourcing, freight forwarding, supply chain consulting, tax management and global trade compliance.  Allyn clients range from small local businesses to Fortune 500 firms. Allyn conducts business in more than 20 languages and has extensive experience in both developed and emerging markets. Highly trained experts are positioned throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. Allyn’s regional headquarters are strategically located in Fort Myers, Florida, U.S.A., Shanghai, P.R. China and Prague, Czech Republic. For more information, visit www.allynintl.com.