WORLD NEWS – China retaliates, imposes 34% reciprocal tariffs on U.S. goods, rejects U.S. chicken

Laila Kirkpatrick, Staff Writer

China announced that it would impose a 34% tariff on imports of all U.S. products, beginning on April 10th. This is just one of China’s many retaliatory measures, following President Trump’s “Liberation Day” slate of double-digit tariffs. This new tariff matches the rate of the Trump’s “reciprocal” tariff of 34% on Chinese exports that was ordered this week. The Commerce Ministry in Beijing also stated in a notice that it would impose more controls on materials used in high-tech products, such as computer chips and electronic vehicle batteries. 

Included in the list of minerals were samarium and its compounds. These minerals are used in aerospace manufacturing and the defense sector. Another element, gadolinium, is used in MRI scans. China’s customs department also said it had suspended imports of chicken from some U.S. suppliers after detecting furazolidone, a drug banned in China, in shipments from those companies. It was also found to have high levels of mold in the sorghum and salmonella in poultry meat from some of their suppliers. The announcements affected four poultry companies and one company that exports sorghum.