section_path: Background/Second Trump administration
section_name: Second Trump administration
paragraph_text: Second Trump administration
  
  On February 1, 2025, Trump signed Executive Order 14195 to declare a national emergency regarding drug trafficking from China into the United States, alleging that the Chinese government was providing a “safe haven” for criminal organizations to “launder the revenues from the production, shipment, and sale of illicit synthetic opioids.” Using authority granted by national emergency and security related acts, Trump was able to tariffs more quickly and broadly than in his first term.
  
  Trump first imposed a 10% tariff on Chinese imports, framing the move as a way of pressuring China into taking action on fentanyl, a drug central to the United States opioid crisis. On March 4, he raised this tariff to 20%. China's initial retaliation was targeted and, according to Capital Economics analyst Julian Evans-Pritchard, "fairly modest, at least relative to US moves". On February 10, China imposed tariffs of 15% on coals and liquefied natural gas and 10% on oil and agricultural machines. China also added PVH Corp. and Illumina to the Unreliable Entity List, launched an antitrust investigation into Google, and added export controls to some metals including tungsten. After Trump increased his tariffs, China retaliated by imposing 10-15% tariffs on select agricultural, meat, and dairy products, effective March 10, 2025. China also launched an anti-circumvention investigation into optical fiber products imported from the United States. The General Administration of Customs of China suspended US lumber imports and revoked soybean import licenses for three US firms.
  
  Politico reported that since the beginning of the year, China had increased non-tariff trade barriers to block imports from the US entirely. On April 2, the United States imposed a 34% "reciprocal tariff" on most Chinese imports, aiming to balance its trade deficit with China. This applied in addition to the 20% "fentanyl tariff" and other prior measures. China retaliated with a matching tariff of 34% on all American goods and suspended negotiations regarding the sale of TikTok. China also restricted exports of six heavy rare-earths, 100% of which were refined in China, and rare-earth magnets, 90% of which are produced in China.
  
  Trump responded by raising tariffs by an additional 50% beginning April 9, bringing the baseline tariff on Chinese imports to 104%. China responded with an extra 50% retaliatory tariff as well, bringing their baseline tariff on American goods to 84%. The US then raised to 145%, and on April 11, China raised to 125%. The Chinese Finance Ministry added that China would ignore any further US tariff increases, stating, "Even if the U.S. continues to impose higher tariffs, it will no longer make economic sense and will become a joke in the history of world economy." Analysts noted this marked a significant escalation in the ongoing trade tensions, reducing prospects for near-term diplomatic resolution.
  
  On April 22, Trump stated that tariffs on Chinese imports would "come down substantially, but it won't be zero". Two days later, Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said China and the US had "not conducted consultations or negotiations on tariffs." When asked to respond, Trump said the US had been meeting with China as recently as that morning.
  
  On March 30, 2025, China, South Korea, and Japan's trade ministers met for the first time in five years. The officials discussed goals for a trilateral free trade agreement and enhanced supply-chain cooperation in response to Trump tariffs.