The foreign ministry said: “Given that there is no longer any possibility of market acceptance for US goods exported to China under the current tariff levels, if the US side subsequently continues to impose tariffs on Chinese goods exported to the US, the Chinese side will pay no attention to it.”
The US buys far more goods from China than Beijing buys from the US. China is America’s third biggest export market after Canada and Mexico, as well as its biggest import partner.
{snip}
This suggests American buyers may face a bigger challenge finding alternative sources for imports that include smartphones, laptops, batteries, electrical goods and toys that account for the largest share of goods bought from China.
This could increase the US trade deficit with Beijing in the short term.
Rory Green, at TS Lombard, said trade barriers between the two economies were now so high that even tariffs of “a million per cent” would make little difference.
{snip}
He said companies in China were likely to spend the next three months finding ways to reroute their goods through other countries such as Vietnam, which were handed a partial reprieve by the Trump administration.
Mr Green added: “Forthcoming fees on Chinese vessels docking in the US may slow some trade. Nevertheless, there are huge incentives for buyers and producers to move goods quickly. Apple flew in five planes loaded with iPhones last Friday.”
{snip}
The commerce ministry repeated a vow to “fight to the end” in the escalating trade war. “It’s become a joke,” the ministry said in a statement.
Soy beans were the biggest US export to China last year.
* Original Article:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2025/04/11/china-shuts-down-trade-with-us-in-riposte-to-trump/