‘Tariffs are just tax on Americans’: China targets US public over Trump’s trade blitz

Amid the intensifying trade war, Donald Trump has imposed steep levies on Chinese imports—raising some tariffs as high as 145%.

By: Express Web Desk

April 13, 2025 07:28 PM IST

In a retaliatory move, Beijing hiked its tariffs on US goods to 125%. (File Photo)

As trade tensions soar between the United States and China, Beijing has taken a new approach by directing its message straight at the American people especially supporters of US President Donald Trump.

In a pointed post on X , Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning shared a video featuring a man portraying a US importer. In the video, he warns that it’s not foreign nations, but regular Americans who will ultimately bear the burden of Trump’s tariff policies.

“Foreign countries pay the tariffs? No – US businesses pay, then pass costs to you. Tariffs don’t bring manufacturing back. They’re just a tax on Americans,” Mao captioned the video.

This move comes as part of China’s broader effort to counter what it sees as misinformation around tariffs. While Trump insists that foreign exporters are the ones paying the tariffs, economists and trade experts widely agree that importers are the ones who actually pay them—and those costs are often passed on to American consumers.

“We pretty much can do what we want to do, but we want to be fair,” Trump said earlier aboard Air Force One. “We can set the tariff, and they can choose not to deal with us or they can choose to pay it.”

Also read | US tariffs could ‘inflict serious harm’ on poor nations, China warns WTO

Amid the intensifying trade war, Trump has imposed steep levies on Chinese imports—raising some tariffs as high as 145 per cent. In a retaliatory move, Beijing hiked its tariffs on US goods to 125 per cent. Analysts warn that these escalating duties could cripple trade between the two nations, which together accounted for over $650 billion in goods trade in 2024.

Despite the pressure, the Trump administration made some key exemptions, easing the impact on major US tech firms. Products like smartphones, laptops, semiconductors, and memory chips—mostly imported from China—were excluded from the latest wave of tariffs. According to a The India Express report, these exclusions also apply to electronics made in countries like India and Taiwan, offering relief to companies like Apple and Dell.

Even with these carve-outs, the broader message from China remains clear: tariffs hurt American wallets. By speaking directly to the US public on social media, Beijing is attempting to reshape the narrative and warn of the domestic costs of Trump’s economic strategy.

(with inputs from agencies)

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