DECLARATION OF WAR (Uncut) 04-09-2025

DECLARATION OF WAR: Trump Hits Back China with 104% Tariff on ALL Goods Effective IMMEDIATELY

Welcome back, everyone. I hope you’re doing well today. Thank you so much for being here.

If you’re new, please do make sure that you are subscribed to worldaffairsandcontext.com for the latest updates and also consider supporting my work. It is very much appreciated. The US-China trade war appears to be getting completely out of control, and it certainly sets a very dangerous precedent between the two great power states that is likely to have both economic and geopolitical consequences.

Donald Trump’s tariff regime is the most aggressive use of tariffs by the United States since the 1930s, and it is important to acknowledge that these trade policies are in no way, shape, or form just a casual way of conducting business. This is quite extreme. On the scale, 180 countries, I believe, are impacted.

And so first, let’s quickly recap how this began in case you missed anything. On April the 2nd, Donald Trump imposed a 34% tariff on China on top of the existing, at that time, 20% duty. As the result, imports from China into the United States had a new tariff of 54%.

In response to that, Chinese authorities retaliated, as should be expected, of course, with reciprocal tariffs in the case of economically and politically powerful actors. So, China retaliated with new export controls on a range of rare earth minerals, which directly impacted Donald Trump’s goals to continue acquiring rare earth minerals for domestic production of high-tech devices. China also imposed additional duties on all U.S. imports to China.

It filed a lawsuit against the United States with the World Trade Organization, claiming that the Trump administration is non-compliant with prior trade agreements. I have an entire video with the details. If you’re interested, I will link it in the description below.

So, Trump then took to social media, where he posted, quote, China panicked, the one thing it cannot afford to do. Now, it is quite unclear as to why exactly the retaliation was presented as panic to the U.S. population. That response by China was a quite logical move to coercive economic measures.

It responded in kind. That’s all that happened. Then, on April the 8th, the United States left itself no off-ramps at all by imposing a 104% tariff on Chinese imports.

Here’s a short clip from the White House. Take a look. The president was asked and answered this yesterday.

He said he’s not considering an extension or a delay. I spoke to him before this briefing. That was not his mindset.

He expects that these tariffs are going to go into effect. And you said something very important, Elena, in your question. You said the president has captivated the attention of the world.

Absolutely, he has. And it’s about time we have a president in the Oval Office who is putting the world on notice. Now, the important question is who is going to pay for this political theater? Because that’s all it is.

It is just political theater. There is no economic rhyme or reason to impose a 104% tariff on the imports of any state, let alone your top importer, which I will walk you through in just a second. So that is a great question to ask.

And the answer to that question is average U.S. consumers will foot the bill, as it typically happens, with a new 104% tariff on Chinese products, which includes pharmaceuticals, including cancer drugs and other types of medical products, and, of course, basic supplies. U.S. consumers will pay double, and that is if these goods are still available in the long run. That is if the shelves are fully stocked, and there is no guarantee that that will continue to be the case in these conditions.

That might not even be the case for some products at all in the short run. And plus, it remains to be seen just how China responds to such unprecedented escalation. But we’re going to tariff our pharmaceuticals.

And once we do that, they’re going to come rushing back into our country because we’re the big market. The advantage we have over everybody is that we’re the big market. So we’re going to be announcing very shortly a major tariff on pharmaceuticals.

And when they hear that, they will leave China. They will leave other places because they have to sell. Most of their product is sold here.

The United States is the largest importer of goods in the entire world. While that fact does represent substantial leverage, given the United States’ purchasing power and its market size, it’s also important to acknowledge that the dependency of U.S. consumers on foreign producers is unprecedented. And especially, of course, the dependency on those producers who are now increasingly more assortive and are growing quite hostile to these aggressive policies.

It’s very important not to discount the role of Chinese goods and services on the United States market. The top five countries exporting goods to the United States are China. China is the top importer, followed by Mexico, Canada, Japan, and Germany.

In 2024, the United States imported approximately $438 billion worth of goods from China, marking a 2.8% increase from the year prior. So we’ve been importing more and more annually from China, and now we’re just waging economic wars on our top trade partner. These imports encompassed a wide range of products, including electronics, clothing, and toys.

It is important to note that these figures represent goods imports only, and they do not include services, with services, of course, being a significant portion of trade between the United States and China. Now let’s take a quick look at the items that are imported from China into the United States that will likely see considerable price increases as the result of these escalations in trade war. I just want to show you a very quick list of the top 10 imports last year.

So according to Forbes, the number one item that enjoys the biggest demand among the U.S. consumers are smartphones. In 2024, the United States imported $50 billion worth of smartphones, followed by computers, toys, video game consoles, lithium-ion batteries, pharmaceuticals. And this is where it’s going to hurt the most, in my personal opinion, because U.S. consumers do depend on pharmaceuticals that are manufactured in China that are completely unaffordable here in the United States.

Then, of course, we’ve got accessories for computers and plastic items. Raising import tariffs to 104% on these goods will hit consumers’ wallets, without a doubt. The only question that remains at this point in time is, how painful will this be, and how long will these extreme trade policies last? Because they’re not to your advantage, and they will cost you an arm and a leg.

It’s great to think, well, this is temporary, and as we’re dealing with these economic pains, they’re temporary, foreign manufacturers will just start flocking to the U.S. market to produce these exact products here domestically. But unfortunately, the reality is quite different. Some may choose to invest in infrastructure to produce here, to manufacture here, but many won’t.

Flip-flopping on policies, being extremely unpredictable, means business instability, and many foreign companies will see that as a no-go in an era where geopolitical divides are actually becoming wider, and foreign nations might actually come up with incentives on their end to keep their manufacturers, to keep their producers home, rather than let them boost U.S. economy. So that is going to be one of the main obstacles, in my opinion, that would prevent foreign companies from investing, from heavily investing in U.S. economy. Well, also, an increase of 74 points in tariffs is a considerable shock to any economy.

However, China’s economy is quite diversified. It is the top trading partner for many nations across the globe, across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. As mentioned previously in one of my interviews, research indicates that it would take China only two years to shift away from the U.S. market.

Now, how long would it take the United States to decouple from goods produced in China? That is the question that we should be asking ourselves right now, as well as asking our senators and asking our House representatives for their input. So, thank you so much for watching. I certainly appreciate it.

Make sure that you are subscribed to worldaffairsandcontext.com. Please support my work. It is very much appreciated. Remember to like, subscribe, and share, and I will see you back here tomorrow.

Enjoy the rest of your day. Bye for now.