‘My policies will never change’: Trump doubles down on trade war after China announces retaliatory tariffs – live | Trump administration
'My policies will never change', says Trump as he claims China 'played it wrong' over tariffs
With the stock market in a tailspin, Donald Trump has declared that his policies will “never change” as he doubled down on his trade war a few hours after China retaliated with tariffs on US goods and claimed “this is a great time to get rich”.
The president posted on his Truth Social platform on Friday:
TO THE MANY INVESTORS COMING INTO THE UNITED STATES AND INVESTING MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF MONEY, MY POLICIES WILL NEVER CHANGE. THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO GET RICH, RICHER THAN EVER BEFORE!!!
He added:
GREAT JOB NUMBERS, FAR BETTER THAN EXPECTED. IT’S ALREADY WORKING. HANG TOUGH, WE CAN’T LOSE!!!
However, as my colleague Graeme Wearden notes, Wall Street futures continue to indicate shares will tumble when trading resumes, with S&P 500 futures down 2.7%.
Trump went on to claim China had “played it wrong” by retaliating to his escalation:
CHINA PLAYED IT WRONG, THEY PANICKED - THE ONE THING THEY CANNOT AFFORD TO DO!
Financial markets are plunging after China retaliated against the US over Trump’s tariffs with a 34% levy on US imports. It came two days after Trump imposed the same tariff on all Chinese imports, bringing the total US tariff on Chinese goods to at least 54%.
Key events
Here’s our Beijing correspondent Amy Hawkins’s news story on China’s retaliation to Trump’s “bullying practice” with 34% tariffs on US imports.
“For all imported goods originating from the US, an additional tariff of 34% on top of the current applicable tariff rate will be imposed,” Beijing’s finance ministry said.
China’s commerce ministry said that it would also impose more restrictions on the export of rare earths which are used in high-tech manufacturing such as batteries and electric vehicles. It added a further 16 US companies and organisations to its export control list, meaning that Chinese companies are restricted from doing business with them.
China’s state council tariff commission said:
On April 2, 2025, the US government announced the imposition of ‘reciprocal tariffs’ on Chinese goods exported to the US. This practice of the US is not in line with international trade rules, seriously undermines China’s legitimate rights and interests, and is a typical unilateral bullying practice.
Mark Sweney
From Nike to Apple: which US brands could be hit hardest by Trump tariffs and what’s at stake?
Donald Trump’s so-called “liberation day” tariff war has so far wiped trillions off the market value of publicly traded companies, with the sweeping border taxes of up to 50% poised to wreak havoc on businesses across the world.
US-based global brands from Nike to Apple have suffered some of the heaviest falls in share price and market value, as investors react to fears of price increases and a potential slowdown in consumer spending.
Apple fears the tariffs will dramatically increase its costs and fuel price increases for products such as its iPhone. Photograph: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock
My colleague Mark Sweney has examined some of the most exposed industries and brands. In technology, we have Apple and Amazon.
Apple, the world’s most valuable publicly listed company, experienced a fall in market capitalisation of more than $300bn (£230bn) on Thursday in the worst single day drop since 2020 over fears the tariffs will dramatically increase its costs and fuel price increases for products such as its iPhone.
Apple makes most of its hardware in China and two other leading production hubs, India and Vietnam, were also hit with 26% and 46% tariff rates.
Other “Magnificent 7” mega-value tech companies suffered similarly. Amazon, a leading seller of imported goods from across the globe, was stripped of almost $190bn in market value. China-based sellers have more than 50% market share on Amazon’s third-party seller marketplace, according to MarketPlace Pulse.
In fashion, prices of Nike’s signature Jordan sports shoes, Levi’s jeans and Gap clothes are likely to rise in the US as Trump’s tariffs hit the Asian factory hubs that underpin the global garment industry.
The high tariffs across many leading garment manufacturing countries also threatens significant supply chain cost increases of everything from tracksuits to sweaters.
The full story is here:
Wall Street tumbles at the open after China retaliates
Graeme Wearden
The New York stock market has opened, and stocks are sliding again.
Following the worst day since March 2020, shares are being hammered again after China retaliated against the US by announcing 34% tariffs on US goods earlier today.
The S&P 500 index, a broad measure of the US stock market, fell by 2.48% at the start of trading, down 133 points to 5,262.68.
The Dow Jones industrial average, which tracks 30 large US companies, has fallen by 982 points at the open, down 2.4%, to 39,563 points.
These losses mean the Dow is down 10% from its recent record high, putting it in ‘correction territory’.
'My policies will never change', says Trump as he claims China 'played it wrong' over tariffs
With the stock market in a tailspin, Donald Trump has declared that his policies will “never change” as he doubled down on his trade war a few hours after China retaliated with tariffs on US goods and claimed “this is a great time to get rich”.
The president posted on his Truth Social platform on Friday:
TO THE MANY INVESTORS COMING INTO THE UNITED STATES AND INVESTING MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF MONEY, MY POLICIES WILL NEVER CHANGE. THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO GET RICH, RICHER THAN EVER BEFORE!!!
He added:
GREAT JOB NUMBERS, FAR BETTER THAN EXPECTED. IT’S ALREADY WORKING. HANG TOUGH, WE CAN’T LOSE!!!
However, as my colleague Graeme Wearden notes, Wall Street futures continue to indicate shares will tumble when trading resumes, with S&P 500 futures down 2.7%.
Trump went on to claim China had “played it wrong” by retaliating to his escalation:
CHINA PLAYED IT WRONG, THEY PANICKED - THE ONE THING THEY CANNOT AFFORD TO DO!
Financial markets are plunging after China retaliated against the US over Trump’s tariffs with a 34% levy on US imports. It came two days after Trump imposed the same tariff on all Chinese imports, bringing the total US tariff on Chinese goods to at least 54%.
Senate Republicans push to advance Trump's budget agenda in vote-a-rama
“Vote-a-rama” begins tonight as the Senate moves forward with up to 50 hours of debate on the new budget blueprint, culminating in a marathon voting session before a final vote as late as Saturday. The goal? To pass legislation containing much of Donald Trump’s agenda later this year, his “one, big beautiful bill”.
With lawmakers voting on budget amendments one by one, Democrats are expected to force Republicans to take politically painful amendment votes on issues that divide them throughout the series, for example on Medicaid and Trump’s tariffs.
At the end of the vote-a-rama, the Senate is expected to adopt its budget blueprint. It then heads to the House, where some conservative Republicans have already criticized the resolution.
Both chambers must adopt the identical budget blueprint before advancing legislation to implement Trump’s agenda, which includes new funding for immigration enforcement, a sweeping overhaul of the tax code, steep spending cuts and more energy drilling. The details of the legislation still need to be determined.
On Thursday, following an hourslong delay and last-minute Republican rallying, the Senate voted 52-48 along party lines to begin debate on the GOP’s budget blueprint.
Republican senator Rand Paul of Kentucky joined all Democrats in voting no and has indicated that he does not approve of including an increase to the debt limit in the resolution.
‘Markets will adjust’: Rubio shrugs off stocks falling after US tariffs
Jakub Krupa
Speaking to reporters after a Nato summit in Brussels, US state secretary Marco Rubio was asked about Trump’s tariffs, which wiped about $2.5tn off Wall Street and share prices in other financial centres across the globe.
Marco Rubio during a meeting at Nato headquarters in Brussels on 4 April. Photograph: Nicolas Tucat/AP
He appeared to play down the impact, saying “their economies are not crashing – they’re markets are reacting to a dramatic change in the global order in terms of trade.”
What happens is pretty straightforward. If you’re a company and you make a bunch of your products in China, and all of a sudden, shareholders, or people that play the stock market realise that it’s going to cost a lot more to produce in China, your stock is going to go down.
But ultimately, the markets, as long as they know what this the rules are going to be moving forward … the markets will adjust.
He explained that the US has “the largest consumer market in the world, and yet the only thing we export is services, and we need to stop that”.
“We need to get back to a time where we’re a country that can make things,” he added.
“The president rightly has concluded that the current status of global trade is bad for America and good for a bunch of other people. And he’s going to reset it, and he’s absolutely right to do it,” he said.
My colleague Jakub Krupa is covering the press conference – and developments in Europe more widely – here:
'You cannot annex another country': Danish PM tells US on visit to Greenland
Miranda Bryant
The Danish prime minister has put on a show of unity with Greenlandic leaders in her first visit to the Arctic island since Donald Trump’s renewed threats to acquire the territory, telling the US: “You cannot annex another country.”
Speaking alongside Greenland’s new prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, and its outgoing prime minister, Múte B Egede, Mette Frederiksen switched from Danish to English to address the diplomatic standoff with the Trump administration. She said:
I would like to take this opportunity to send a message directly to the United States of America.
This is not only about Greenland or Denmark. This is about the world order that we have built together across the Atlantic over generations. You cannot annex another country – not even with an argument about international security.
Denmark and Greenland “want to cooperate with the United States”, she said. “If you want to be more present in Greenland, Greenland and Denmark are ready. If you want to strengthen security in the Arctic, as we would like, let’s do it together.”
Egede said Greenland wanted to cooperate with the US on trade, but reasserted his previous comments, saying: “We are not for sale.”
Meanwhile, in Brussels on Friday, Marco Rubio said Denmark should focus on the fact that Greenlanders do not want to be a part of Denmark. He told reporters at a press conference after meeting other Nato foreign ministers: “Greenlanders are going to make a decision.”
He said:
We didn’t give them that idea. They’ve been talking about that for a long time. Whenever they make that decision, they’ll make that decision.
If they make that decision, then the United States would stand ready, potentially, to step in and say, OK, we can create a partnership with you. We’re not at that stage, but that’s what the vice-president made clear last week in his visit there.
He added the US was “not going to … let China come in now and say, offer them a bunch of money and become … dependent on China”.
According to the Washington Post (paywall), the White House budget office is assessing the cost of running Greenland and working out an estimate of how much revenue could be earned from its natural resources.
Among the options on the table is to offer Greenland a higher figure in subsidies, approximately £500m a year, than Denmark currently does.
Governor Newsom to ask world leaders to exempt California's exports from retaliatory tariffs - report
The governor of California, Gavin Newsom, will announce on Friday plans to ask countries to exempt his state from retaliatory tariffs on California-made products, Fox News is reporting.
A blooming almond orchard near Shafter, California. Photograph: Ann Johansson/Corbis/Getty Images
Sources have told Fox the move is a direct response to Donald Trump’s sweeping so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs, which have left global markets in turmoil and nations around the world reeling. The Golden State is the largest importer and second-largest exporter in the country. Its agricultural sector, in particular, depends on exports.
The Newsom administration is worried that California’s almond industry, a major agricultural exporter, will lose billions of dollars as nations like China, India and the EU move to impose retaliatory tariffs. Californian farmers grow an estimated 80% of the world’s almonds. Other top agricultural exports include dairy products, pistachios, wine and walnuts.
Trade with Mexico, Canada and China is also key for California, and a Newsom official told Fox the new Trump tariffs will also affect access to critical supplies, like construction materials, needed to rebuild after the Los Angeles wildfires.
The sweeping new US tariffs announced by president Donald Trump do not violate Nato treaties, the military alliance’s secretary-general Mark Rutte said on Friday after meeting Nato foreign ministers in Brussels.
Rutte was responding to a reporter’s question that referred to article 2 in the Nato treaty which states: “(Nato allies) will seek to eliminate conflict in their international economic policies and will encourage economic collaboration between any or all of them.”
Trump reportedly threatening to freeze $510m in grants from Brown University
Gabrielle Canon
The Trump administration is taking aim at Brown University with threats to freeze $510m in grants, widening its promise to withhold federal funding from schoolsit accuses of allowing antisemitism on campus, according to multiple media outlets including Reuters and the New York Times.
University officials said they had not yet been formally notified, but the school was among dozens warned last month that enforcement actions could be coming as the administration seeks to crack down on academic institutions .
As at many universities across the US, students at the Rhode Island Ivy League school protested Israel’s attacks against Palestinians last autumn, raising a cluster of tents on the grassy quad at the heart of campus. But, unlike at many of its sister schools, Brown administrators chose to negotiate rather than clear the demonstrations forcefully.
The Trump administration may reportedly halt more than half a billion dollars in contracts and grants awarded to Brown University. Photograph: Steven Senne/AP
Trump has called the protesters antisemitic, labeling them sympathetic to Hamas militants and foreign policy threats, and has threatened to slash federal funds universities depend on to fuel important research.
In an email to campus leaders on Thursday shared by a Brown University spokesperson, the school’s provost, Frank Doyle, said the university was aware of “troubling rumors emerging about federal action on Brown research grants” but added it had “no information to substantiate any of these rumors”.
“We are closely monitoring notifications related to grants, but have nothing more we can share as of now,” he added.
You can read the full story here:
China files suit with World Trade Organization over new US tariffs
China says it has filed a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization (WTO) over Trump’s tariffs imposed on its exports.
“China has filed a lawsuit under the WTO dispute settlement mechanism,” Beijing’s commerce ministry said in a statement. We will have more on this as soon as we get it.
China to impose tariffs of 34% on all US goods from 10 April
China’s finance ministry has said it will impose additional tariffs of 34% on all US goods from 10 April as a countermeasure to sweeping tariffs imposed by Donald Trump.
As we reported in an earlier post, the Chinese ministry of commerce had called on the US to cancel the tariffs and promised unspecified countermeasures.
China has been hit particularly hard by the new tariffs, which take the total levy on Chinese imports to over 50%. The higher levies are due to come into effect from 9 April.
China, a key exporter to the US, of everything from clothing to kitchenware, has already announced a raft of retaliatory measures expected to raise prices for US consumers.
“There are no winners in trade wars and tariff wars,” China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said earlier this week. “It’s clear to everyone that more and more countries are opposing the unilateral bullying actions of the US”.
Trump's tariffs explained
My colleagues have done a useful explainer breaking down what Trump’s tariffs are and how they’ve affected the economy since the announcement. Here is an extract from it:
What exactly are the new tariffs Trump is imposing?
Trump’s new tariffs are twofold. First, all imported goods will be subject to a 10% universal tariff starting 5 April. Then, on 9 April, certain countries will see higher tariff rates – what Trump has deemed “reciprocal tariffs” in retaliation for tariffs the countries have placed on American exports.
Keep in mind that tariffs are paid by American companies that are importing goods such as wine from Europe or microchips from Taiwan.
Some of the highest tariffs will be put on imports from Asian countries, including China, India, South Korea and Japan. EU exports will also have a 20% tariff.
Map of 'reciprocal tariff' rates announced by Donald Trump on 2 April
How did the White House calculate the tariffs?
The administration said that it looked at the trade deficit between the US and a specific country as a percentage, and then considered that to be a tariff. So, for example, the value of US goods that are exported to China are 67% of the value of the Chinese goods that are imported into the US.
The White House calls this definition a “tariff” placed on American goods, though a deficit and a tariff are not the same thing. It then halved the “tariff” and used that percentage to represent the new levy that the US would place on goods from that country.
Chart with x and y axis covered in red dots
UK foreign minister suggests Trump has taken US economic policy back 100 years with 'return to protectionism'
Nato foreign ministers are meeting in Brussels today to talk about Russia’s war on Ukraine. Increased defence investment is a key item on the agenda. But some of European’s foreign ministers, including the UK’s David Lammy, have been asked about Trump’s sweeping tariffs on the way in.
Speaking to journalists, Lammy suggested Trump was taking US economic policy back almost a century by embracing protectionism. The British foreign minister explained:
The United Kingdom, like France, is a great maritime nation.
We are a nation that believes in open trade, and I regret the return to protectionism in the United States, something that we’ve not seen for nearly a century.
As you know, we are consulting with business and industry. At this time, we are engaged in discussions with the United States to strike an economic agreement and an economic deal.
And of course, we have been absolutely clear that all options are on the table as we ensure the national interests of the British people, who will be very concerned at this time about how this affects the bottom line for them and their economic welfare.
We will put their national interest first, and it’s in their national interests to be negotiating with the United States an economic agreement at this time, but keeping all options on the table.
David Lammy addresses the media during the meeting of Nato foreign ministers at the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels. Photograph: Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP
You can keep up to date with all the developments in UK politics in Andrew Sparrow’s brilliant live blog.
Trump claims his tariffs rollout is going 'very well' despite global financial markets in turmoil
Donald Trump said he thinks his tariff plan is going “very well” despite his announcement causing chaos in global markets.
Speaking to reporters last night, the US president said:
I think it’s going well. It was an operation - like when a patient gets operated on and it’s a big thing.
I said this would exactly be the way it is. We have 6 or 7 trillion dollars coming into our country and we have never seen anything like it.
The markets are going to boom, the stock (market) is going to boom, the country is going to boom and the rest of the world wants to see is there any way they can make a deal.
They have taken advantage of us for many many years.
Trump’s brash comments came despite the US financial market having suffered its biggest one-day loss since June 2020 on Thursday. American markets all closed lower – the Dow Jones dropped nearly 4% while the S&P 500 fell close to 5%.
As the Guardian’s media business correspondent Mark Sweney notes in this story, the economic fallout has continued today.Japan’s Nikkei index fell almost 3% on Friday, ending the week down 9%, while Tokyo’s Topix was down 4.5%. South Korea’s Kospi closed down 1.3%. In London, the FTSE 100 fell 41 points at the open on Friday morning.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index fell 2.2% amid fears of a global recession after Trump’s announcement of the steepest trade barriers in more than 100 years.
Here is a video of Trump announcing the sweeping tariffs on Wednesday. They were regularly touted on the Republican’s presidential campaign trail but their scale have taken many commentators by surprise:
Trump announces sweeping new tariffs, upending decades of US trade policy – video
Senators unveil bill to claw back power over tariffs amid Trump trade wars
Lauren Gambino
Lauren Gambino ispolitical correspondent for Guardian US
Senior senators introduced new bipartisan legislation on Thursday seeking to claw back some of Congress’s power over tariffs after Donald Trump unveiled sweeping new import taxes and rattled the global economy with sweeping new import taxes.
The Trade Review Act of 2025, co-sponsored by Senator Chuck Grassley, a top Republican lawmaker from Iowa, a state heavily reliant on farm exports, and Senator Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington, whose state shares a border with Canada, would require the president to notify Congress of new tariffs, and provide a justification for the action and an analysis on the potential impact on US businesses and consumers.
Senior Republican lawmaker Chuck Grassley is introducing new legislation after Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day” tariff announcement. Photograph: J Scott Applewhite/AP
For the tariff to remain in effect, Congress would need to approve a joint resolution within 60 days. If Congress failed to give its consent within that timeframe, all new tariffs on imports would expire.
The legislation would also allow Congress to terminate tariffs at any time through a resolution of disapproval.
You can read the full story here:
Trump administration sued over Chinese import tariffs
Sweeping new tariffs announced by Donald Trump on Wednesday risked sparking a global trade war and have provoked widespread dismay and threats of countermeasures from countries around the world. Traders are warning about a US or even global recession, as stock markets continue to be hit by a brutal sell-off by investors.
Tariffs are border taxes charged on the import of goods from foreign countries. Importers pay them upon entry to the customs agency of the country or bloc that levies them.
Chinese goods, already subject to a 20% levy, received an additional 34% tariff, taking the total tariff to 54%. The additional levy takes effect on 9 April. China’s commerce ministry called the move “a typical act of unilateral bullying” and vowed to take “resolute countermeasures to safeguard its rights and interests”.
The reciprocal rates will come into effect from 12:01am on 9 April. They are in addition to a baseline 10% tariff which goes into effect from 12:01am on 5 April. The reciprocal rates will come into effect from 12:01am on 9 April. They are in addition to a baseline 10% tariff which goes into effect from 12:01am on 5 April.
New Civil Liberties Alliance, a conservative legal group, on Thursday filed what it said was the first lawsuit seeking to block Trump’s tariffs on Chinese imports.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Florida, alleges that Trump lacked the legal authority to impose the sweeping 2 April tariffs as well as duties authorised on 1 February under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
In a statement, NCLA senior litigation counsel Andrew Morris said:
By invoking emergency power to impose an across-the-board tariff on imports from China that the statute does not authorize, President Trump has misused that power, usurped Congress’s right to control tariffs, and upset the Constitution’s separation of powers.
The lawsuit asks a judge to block implementation and enforcement of the tariffs and undo Trump’s changes to the US tariff schedule, according to Reuters.
My colleagues Hugo LowellandJoseph Gedeon have more in this story on the surprise firing of Gen Tim Haugh, who had been the director of the National Security Agency for just over a year, having been nominated by former president Joe Biden in May 2023. His removal was revealed by Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, ranking member of the House intelligence committee, and Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, vice-chair of the Senate intelligence committee.
The firings come as Trump’s national security adviser Mike Waltz continues to fight calls for his ouster after using the publicly available encrypted Signal app to discuss planning for the sensitive 15 March military operation targeting Houthi militants in Yemen.
Warner said on Thursday night, “It is astonishing, too, that President Trump would fire the nonpartisan, experienced leader of the National Security Agency while still failing to hold any member of his team accountable for leaking classified information on a commercial messaging app – even as he apparently takes staffing direction on national security from a discredited conspiracy theorist in the Oval Office.”
Haugh met last month with Elon Musk, whose “department of government efficiency”, or Doge, has roiled the federal government by slashing personnel and budgets at dozens of agencies. In a statement, the NSA said the meeting was intended to ensure both organizations were “aligned” with the new administration’s priorities.
Donald Trump reportedly fires National Security Agency director
Good morning, and welcome to our US politics blog.
Donald Trump fired Gen Tim Haugh, the director of the US National Security Agency (NSA) on Thursday, according to the top Democrats on the congressional intelligence committees.
The Washington Post reported yesterday evening that Haugh and his civilian deputy at the NSA, Wendy Noble, had been dismissed from their roles. Haugh also headed US Cyber Command, which coordinates the Pentagon’s cybersecurity operations.
Maggie Dougherty, who oversaw international organizations at the White House National Security Council (NSC), which advises the president on national security matters, was also let go, two sources told Reuters.
Earlier on Thursday, Trump said he had fired “some” White House national security council officials, a move that came a day after far-right activist and social media personality Laura Loomer raised concerns directly to him about staff loyalty.
Loomer, during her Oval Office conversation with the president, urged the president to purge staffers she deemed insufficiently loyal to his “Make America Great Again” agenda, according to several people familiar with the matter.
No reason was given for the removal of Gen Tim Haugh. Photograph: Leah Millis/Reuters
The move, which reportedly caught intelligence officials by surprise, has prompted an angry backlash from congressional Democrats.
Senator Mark Warner, vice-chair of the Senate intelligence committee, said in a statement: “General Haugh has served our country in uniform, with honor and distinction, for more than 30 years. At a time when the United States is facing unprecedented cyber threats … how does firing him make Americans any safer?”
Representative Jim Himes, the ranking member on the House intelligence committee, said he was “deeply disturbed by the decision”.
“I have known General Haugh to be an honest and forthright leader who followed the law and put national security first – I fear those are precisely the qualities that could lead to his firing in this administration,” Himes added. “The intelligence committee and the American people need an immediate explanation for this decision, which makes all of us less safe.”
The Trump team viewed Gen Haugh skeptically in part because he served as a top deputy at the cyber command under the Democratic president Joe Biden. We will have more on this story and other political news shortly.
