China retaliates against US 104% tariffs, imposing levies up to 84%

China hit back at the U.S. tariffs again — which were raised to as high as 104% following mutual retaliations — by imposing additional levies of up to 84% on U.S. imports, the Chinese finance ministry announced on Wednesday.

“Additional tariff rates… will rise from 34% to 84%”, effective from 12:01 pm on Thursday, the ministry said in a statement.

“The U.S. escalation of tariffs against China is a mistake on top of a mistake; it seriously infringes upon China’s legitimate rights and interests and gravely undermines the rules‑based multilateral trading system,” said the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council, according to the state-run Global Times.

In a separate statement, Beijing’s commerce ministry said it would blacklist six American artificial intelligence firms, including Shield AI and Sierra Nevada Corp.

Trump’s latest salvo of tariffs came into effect on dozens of trading partners earlier Wednesday, including punishing duties of 104% on imports of Chinese products.

Trump calls on US companies to return home

While President Trump did not immediately respond to China’s latest round of counter-tariffs, he urged American companies to relocate their operations back to the United States to avoid the impact of foreign duties.

“This is a great time to move your company into the United States of America—just like Apple and so many others are doing in record numbers,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “Don’t wait! Do it now!”

‘So what?’

Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described China’s latest tariff hike as “unfortunate” in response to the U.S. decision to impose reciprocal tariffs on Chinese goods.

Speaking to Fox Business on Wednesday, Bessent criticized Beijing for what he called a lack of willingness to negotiate. “China doesn’t actually want to come to the table to negotiate,” he said. “They are the worst offenders in the international trading system.”

Bessent went further, claiming that China operates “the most imbalanced economy in the history of the modern world.” He argued that the trade escalation will ultimately hurt China more than the U.S., pointing to the significant trade imbalance between the two countries.

“I can tell you this escalation is a loss for them,” he said. “They have smart economists, academics, and technocrats who must be telling their leadership that they do not hold the upper hand here.”

He noted that China exports about five times more to the U.S. than the U.S. exports to China, concluding: “So they can raise their tariffs—but so what?”