China responds to Trump's tariffs - increases 84 percent

Donald Trump

China's response to Trump - increases tariffs on American goods

Jacob Ruderstam

Updated 14.05 | Published 13.29

Chinese President Xi Jinping Photo: Ng Han Guan / AP

Trump thought China wanted to negotiate about the tariffs.

Instead, the country is now raising its tariffs against the United States.

The news causes the Stockholm Stock Exchange to plunge.

On Wednesday evening, US President Donald Trump  took to his own social media platform and stated that China wants to negotiate about the tariffs.

"China also desperately wants to make a deal, but they don't know how to start. We are waiting for their call. It will happen," he wrote.

On Wednesday morning, Trump's phone still had not rung. This in turn led to the promised increase in tariffs to 104 percent on Chinese goods coming into effect this morning.

Donald Trump Photo: Matt Rourke / AP

At 1 p.m., China responded, but instead of calling the United States, they raised tariffs on American goods from 34 percent to 84 percent. The country has also sounded the alarm to the World Trade Organization WTO that Trump's tariffs are damaging global trade, reports Sky News.

The announcement from China also has consequences for Sweden. After the news broke, the Stockholm Stock Exchange fell further. A few minutes after the new Chinese tariff rates were announced, the broad index OMXSPI went from minus 3.3 to minus 4.5.

China's tariffs against the United States come into effect on Thursday.

FACTS

Ten terms in the tariff chaos

• FTT, forced technology transfer. Means that a country forces foreign companies to share their technical know-how in order to give the company access to the domestic market.
• GVC, global value chains värdekedjor. GVC, global value chains. When parts of the production take place in different countries. A good example is Apple's iPhone.
• Trade-bazooka.The term is usually used to describe the Anti-coercion instrument, ACI. It is the EU's most powerful weapon against the type of economic coercion that US tariffs entail.
• Trade deficit. When imports are greater than exports. The US has long had a growing trade deficit. Large trade deficits can create problems for the economy in the long term. 
• Magnificent 7.  Seven dominant US technology companies that together account for a very large part of the total stock market value in the US: Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple, Meta (Facebook), Microsoft, Nvidia (manufactures microchips) and Tesla.
• The Mar-a-Lago deal. The Mar-a-Lago deal. A 40-sidig essay on how the global trading system can change in the US's favor. It is named after Donald Trump's Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago, and was written by Stephen Miran.
• USMCA, United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement. A free trade agreement between the  US, Canada and Mexico from Donald Trump's first term. It replaced the old North American Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA.
• WTO, World Trade Organization. An international body that monitors and regulates tariffs and other trade conditions between its 166 member countries. Donald Trump has long criticized the WTO, which he believes favors other countries at the expense of the United States.:s bekostnad.favors other countries at the expense of the United States.