U.S. President Donald Trump claimed on the 9th (local time) that it is a suitable time for foreign corporations to transfer to the United States, as he began imposing "reciprocal tariffs" on over 80 countries. China noted that the reciprocal taxation would ultimately harm the United States.
On the same day, Trump wrote on social media (SNS) platform Truth Social, "Now is the right time to transfer your corporations to the United States," adding that "many other corporations, including Apple, are doing so at record numbers."
He continued, "(If you transfer your factory to the U.S.) the tariff is '0' and you can almost immediately receive electric and energy supplies, as well as business approvals," and he noted, "There are no delays due to environmental regulations."
Starting at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, the United States began imposing "reciprocal tariffs" with differential rates on over 80 countries, including South Korea (25%). Prior to this, from the 5th, the U.S. imposed a standard tariff of 10% on nearly all countries globally and replaced the basic tariffs with reciprocal tariffs on major trading partners.
China stated in a declaration submitted to the World Trade Organization (WTO) that "the situation is escalating to a dangerous level" and expressed "serious concerns and strong opposition to this reckless move" as one of the WTO member countries affected by the measure.
He added, "Reciprocal tariffs are not a solution to trade imbalances and will not be in the future," and warned, "Rather, it will have a counterproductive effect, harming the United States itself."
In response to Trump’s 34% reciprocal tariff, China imposed a corresponding 34% tariff on U.S. imports. Subsequently, the United States added a 50% retaliatory tariff on Chinese imports. The total tariff applied by the United States when importing Chinese products, including a 20% tariff related to fentanyl influx, is 104%. In turn, China raised the additional tariff rate on all U.S. imports to 84%.