Chinese Foreign Ministry Warns: Americans Will Pay the Price for Trump's Trade Moves

input: China isn't budging following U.S. President Donald Trump's move to slap a 145% tariff on the country. On Sunday, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce fired back

The U.S. must "completely cancel" the tariffs and its "erroneous" reciprocal tariff practice, China's Ministry of Commerce said Sunday.

The executive department of the State Council of the People's Republic of China was responding to a new round of tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on goods from China.

After a pause in the markets this past week, China is turning up the heat—wanting the U.S. to scrap its freshly imposed tariffs once and for all.

It all started on April 2 when Trump rolled out sweeping 10% tariffs targeting more than 100 nations—with some facing even heavier rates.

A week later, on April 9, Trump hit pause on the tariffs for 90 days—but left China out of the deal. By the week’s end, China’s tariff rate had ballooned to 145%.

China wasted no time firing back. On Saturday, April 12, Beijing hiked its retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods to 125%.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration announced a pause on tariffs for consumer electronics this weekend. But U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick warned the relief might be short-lived, saying those goods could still be hit next month.

Beijing seemed cautiously optimistic, calling the electronics exemption a "small step (by) the U.S. to correct its unilateral ‘reciprocal tariff’ erroneous practice," according to a state media dispatch reported by CNN. The message came from China’s Ministry of Commerce, and the report added that the agency accused the U.S. of having “seriously undermined the international economic and trade order.”

The executive department under the State Council of the People’s Republic of China implored the U.S. to ‘“completely cancel” the tariffs, CNN reported.

The report comes on the heels of commentary on X from Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning, who cautioned that everyday consumers will ultimately foot the bill for these hardline trade measures. Mao Ning stated:

Foreign countries pay the tariffs? No—U.S. businesses pay, then pass costs to you. Tariffs don’t bring manufacturing back. They’re just a tax on Americans.

The Trump camp appears confident in its tariff strategy, with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt emphasizing that over 75 nations have contacted the President “eager to address the trade issues.” She added that “the phones have been ringing off the hook.” By Friday, Leavitt told reporters that “More than 15 offers are on the table” and “good progress has been made.” As of Sunday, however, no trade deal had been made with China’s President Xi Jinping.