«--[· Preface ·]--»
Overnight, is it possible for the United States to impose a 500% tariff on China? The latest news from Washington, at a press conference on October 15th, local time, U.S. Treasury Secretary Bescent said: "85 U.S. senators have prepared to grant President Trump the right to impose tariffs of up to 500% on China." This is the first time Bescent has made such a statement.
“Trump suddenly stumbled.”
On October 15, a dramatic shift took place in U.S. politics. Finance Minister Bessent announced at a news conference that 85 senators were ready to authorize Trump to impose tariffs of up to 500% on Chinese goods.
This statement shocked the world because just three days ago, Trump also publicly stated that “Sino-US relations are good,” but now suddenly admitted that “we are fighting a trade war.”
According to historical data, the Trump administration’s tariff policy has repeatedly been unusual.In April 2025, the United States imposed tariffs of 145% on Chinese US goods, but dropped to 30% after the Geneva talks in May.
The 500% tariff proposal was actually a retaliatory measure for the U.S. refusing to compromise with China.According to U.S. think tank Eurasia Group’s analysis, Trump’s team sought to force China to make concessions in front of a high-level meeting in South Korea at the end of October.
But this approach is no different than “drinking to stop thirst” because the U.S. economy itself has been overwhelmed – a Goldman Sachs report that says U.S. consumers have already borne 55% of the cost of tariffs, and this percentage is expected to rise further by the end of the year.
«--[·Allies 'reaction is divided·]--»
Trump’s tariff bar pointed not only to China, but also to try to bring allies together to pressure. However, the countries’ reactions showed clear differences. Japan’s finance minister, Kato Ximing, made it clear that it is unacceptable to impose tariffs of more than 50 percent on China, as this violates the WTO rules.
South Korea is in a dilemma: South Korean companies (such as Hanwha Ocean) invested 215 trillion won in the U.S. shipbuilding industry in order to please the United States, but were blackmailed by China's Ministry of Commerce; South Korea's steel industry has been in an export decline due to a 50% U.S. tariff, and the EU is more cautious.
Despite Trump's threat to impose a 25% tariff on EU cars, the European Commission stressed that any trade deal must be based on "mutual respect", not coercion. In fact, the EU has recently tried to establish its own system of trade rules through the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which is in sharp contrast to the unilateralism of the United States.
It is worth noting that the tariff threat of the United States to the EU has instead prompted the EU to accelerate its "strategic autonomy", such as expanding trade cooperation with Southeast Asian countries.
«--[· China's counter-measures escalate ·]--»
Faced with the US tariff threat, China has taken multi-dimensional countermeasures. The first is to target key areas: On October 9, 2025, China implemented export controls on rare earths and related technologies, directly impacting the U.S. military and high-tech industries.
Legal means: China has sued the United States at the WTO for multiple tariff measures, including the 84% tariff added in April. What is even more noteworthy is that China has innovated trade remedy tools, such as launching the world's first anti-discrimination investigation against Canada and launching an anti-dumping case against U.S. analog chips.
These measures have seen results for the first time.Using the Hunan Ocean as an example, its U.S. subsidiaries are faced with the difficulty of unable to purchase key equipment such as China's dragon doors hanging.This strategy of "guarding their bodies in their own way" has both safeguarded the interests of Chinese enterprises and passed on to the international community the determination of "reciprocity".
“Global economic shock”
U.S. tariff policy is triggering a global economic chain reaction. The most direct impact is the price hike: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed that the producer price index (PPI) rose by 3.3% in July, a new high since 2022.
This inflationary pressure has forced the Fed into a dilemma-if interest rates continue to rise, it may exacerbate the economic recession; if interest rates are maintained, inflation will get further out of control. In the long run, the global industrial chain is accelerating its restructuring.
In order to avoid risks, multinationals have implemented the "China + 1" strategy: Apple will transfer part of its production capacity to India, and Samsung will expand its plant in Vietnam.This trend, although pushing up business costs in the short term, could weaken China's position in the global supply chain in the long run.
Looking back on history, the tariff policy of the United States has never really solved the problem of trade deficit. The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 caused global trade to shrink by 60%, but instead exacerbated the Great Depression. In 2002, the Bush administration imposed a 30% tariff on steel. Although it temporarily protected local industries, it led to the loss of 200,000 jobs in downstream industries.
Today, Trump’s approach is similar, and its “reciprocal tariff” calculation formula has even been criticized for “lacking economic logic”. It’s even more alarming that U.S. tariff policies are undermining the multilateral trade system. WTO Director-General Ivira warned that unilateral measures could lead to fragmentation of global trade rules and ultimately harm the interests of all nations.
Against this background, China's "Global Development Initiative" and "Global Security Initiative" provide new ideas for rebuilding the international economic and trade order.
“ ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ”
The current trade war between China and the United States has entered the deep water zone and the threat of a 500% tariff is both a challenge and an opportunity to reshape the global economic landscape. For China, the key is to remain strategically focused and hedge external risks through scientific and technological innovation and expanding domestic demand; for the international community, we should jointly resist unilateralism and promote the establishment of inclusive and transparent multilateral trade mechanisms.
History will eventually prove that those who try to overthrow domestic contradictions through tariffs will only eventually move the stone to knock their feet.In this war without smoke, only cooperation and win-win can allow the world economy's giant wheel to cross the wave of horror and head to a bright future.