Leavitt told reporters that President Donald Trump believes he is watching China to do business with the US, but believes he “don’t know how to start it.”
The Trump administration is struggling China with strict tariffs after failing to meet the president’s 12pm deadline on Tuesday. This comes after President Donald Trump insisted that China “want to make the deal worse.”
Press Director Karoline Leavitt confirmed on Tuesday that a 104% tariff will be imposed on China’s imports on April 9th. At a press conference on Tuesday, Leavitt also reiterated Trump’s belief that China was about to make a deal.
Trump says Chinese president Xi Jinping knows where he stands when it comes to tariffs. (Ton Molina/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
China refuses to return to tariffs after Trump threatens stricter measures
“He believes China must make a deal with the US. It was a mistake for China to retaliate,” Levitt told reporters. “The president said he’s going to get hit harder when America is punched, so that’s why 104% tariffs are going to go into effect on China in the middle of the night tonight.”
Leavitt added that if Chinese President Xi Jinping were to negotiate a deal, Trump would be “graceful.”
President Donald Trump keeps the charts when making mutual tariff remarks at an event at the Rose Garden, entitled “Make America Wealthy” at the White House in Washington, DC on April 2, 2025. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
China will retaliate with 34% tariffs on US imports
China was already expected to see an increase in tariffs under Trump’s mutual tariff plan. An additional 104% was probably added, probably because they refused to do business with the White House.
On April 4, Trump released a list of tariffs, declaring it as “liberation day.” After the announcement, countries around the world received mixed reactions. Some seemed to negotiate a better deal with the US, but others like China wanted to retaliate.
China has imposed a mutual tariff of 34% on US imports, pledging a “fight at the end” and said it would not succumb to the threat of tariffs.
US President Donald Trump will attend a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the G20 Leader Summit held in Osaka, Japan on June 29, 2019. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarck/File Photo/Reuters)
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The Trump administration said China’s non-market policies and practices gave Beijing “global domination in major manufacturing.” The administration also accused China of “destroying the US industry.”
Meanwhile, Chinese manufacturers are reportedly warning that profits could fall and that they are clearly trying to plan new plants overseas.
