US-China Trade War: Decoding Trump's '245% Tariff' — What White House Fact Sheet Means

A White House fact sheet released on April 15 stated that Chinese imports would be subjected to tariffs as high as 245%. This sparked speculations on whether US President Donald Trump has raised the tariffs on China by another 100% after increasing them to as high as 145% last week.

The fact sheet said, "China now faces up to a 245% tariff on imports to the United States as a result of its retaliatory actions." This means that the maximum tariff on a certain category of Chinese imports would be 245%, and not the entire range of Chinese products shipped to the US would be slapped with such high import duties.

A New York Times report last week already pointed out that tariffs on Chinese imports are not uniform and vary significantly for different product ranges. The maximum duty was levied on Chinese syringes and needles at 245%, as per the report published on April 12.

This is followed by lithium-ion batteries, slapped with 173% duty; squid at 170%; wool sweaters at 169%; plastic dishes at 159%; and toasters at 150%, the report said. Chinese electric cars are charged with 148% tariffs, whereas toys, puzzles and vitamin C products are slapped with 145%, it added.

The tariffs differ, as various categories of Chinese imports were already slapped with import duties before Trump took charge of the White House. A few other products faced increased tariffs after Trump slapped a 20% fentanyl levy shortly after taking charge.

The tariffs shot up exponentially this month after the US president announced reciprocal levies of 34% on China, raised it to 84%, followed by 104% and then to 125%.

China, in a tit-for-tat measure, raised tariffs on American products to as high as 125% last week while also noting that it would not raise the tariffs any further, as the current set of import duties nearly eliminate the scope of US products in the Chinese market.

On being asked by reporters about the "245% tariff rate" during a press briefing on Wednesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said the media could "take this number to the US side for an answer." The US should give up "its approach of imposing extreme pressure", he added, according to China Daily.

Even as the US-China trade war escalates, Trump has offered a 90-day reprieve from tariffs to more than 75 countries. During this period of interim pause, a base tariff of 10% would be levied on their imports. The Trump administration will look to ink trade pacts with these countries during this period.