Trump threatens 104% tariff on China as trade war escalates hours before negotiating deadline: Live updates

By KATELYN CARALLE FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

Published: 12:59 BST, 8 April 2025 | Updated: 23:12 BST, 8 April 2025

Donald Trump is threatening a 104 percent tariff on China after the country refused to lift its retaliatory tariff on the U.S.

The shocking escalation in the trade war between the nations comes just hours before the 12:01 a.m. ET deadline to strike a deal before tariffs go into effect. 

China blasted Trump’s tariffs as ‘blackmail’ and vowed to ‘fight to the end.’

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Tuesday gave President Donald Trump a big win in his efforts to downsize the federal government.

It blocked a judge’s order for Trump’s administration to rehire thousands of fired employees. 

Trump’s senior counselor for trade Peter Navarro said the crashing stock market will turn around soon. He said it was ‘finding a bottom now’ and added: ‘I guarantee no recession.’

Follow the latest with the DailyMail.com blog

White House threatens 104% tariffs on China

China now faces another 50% in tariffs after Beijing missed a noon deadline to withdraw the retaliatory import taxes it imposed on the United States.

The new tariffs will go into effect at 12:01 am, the White House said. That brings the total tariffs on all goods from China coming into the United States to 104%.

Trump placed a 34% increase on China when he announced his tariff plan on Liberation Day. That was on top of 20% import taxes rolled out earlier this year on Beijing.

The president, on Monday, pledged another 50% tariffs after Beijing responded to his tariff threat with a 34% increase on U.S. goods coming into China.

Americans could see massive price hikes on iphones, computers and toys as a result.

Trump issues ominous new ‘nuclear heat’ warning ahead of bomb talks with Iran

President Donald Trump brushed off warnings about climate change Tuesday and said the real threat is ‘nuclear heat’ in a grave threat about Iran.

Trump made the comments in a rambling White House statement before signing executive orders meant to unleash coal power and wipe away regulations that limit it.

He began by dismissing scientific warnings about rising temperatures, melting glaciers, and rising sea levels, months after pulling the U.S. out of the Paris climate agreement.

Karoline Leavitt throws Nancy Pelosi’s words back in her face as she blasts Trump’s China tariffs

With markets tanking and the Trump administration under fire for the president’s ‘reciprocal’ tariffs, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt tried to turn the tables by bringing up Nancy Pelosi’s past comments inveighing against China tariffs.

Leavitt brought up the former House House Speaker’s long record of resisting efforts to grant China preferred trading status – delivering a walk-off speech at the end of her White House briefing Tuesday.

‘Democrats have long said that the United States of America has been ripped off by the countries around the world. They just don’t want to admit it now, because it’s President Trump who is saying that,’ said Leavitt.

MAGA tears into conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett for siding against Trump on deportation ruling

DOGE’s latest $51 MILLION slash will have your head spinning

Jon Michael Raasch, Political Reporter for DailyMail.com

Elon Musk’s DOGE has canceled at least $51 million for mind-boggling initiatives like shea butter marketing, mango drying and yogurt production.

The cost-cutting group recently shared the eyebrow-raising expenditures on X.

‘The US African Development Foundation has terminated $51M in grants,’ the post stated.

DOGE’s post also mentioned specific projects that were being funded by the U.S. African Development Foundation (USADF).

The organization was created by Congress in 1980 and is meant to facilitate direct investments into African enterprises and entrepreneurs.

Trump claims tariffs have brought in ‘$2 billion’ a day

By Nikki Schwab, Chief Campaign Correspondent

President Donald Trump claimed Tuesday afternoon that his tariffs have brought in ‘almost $2 billion a day.’

The stunning figure comes hours before his worldwide tariffs go into effect at midnight.

Trump shared the $2 billion figure ahead of signing energy-related executive orders in the East Room Tuesday afternoon.

JD Vance fires back at Mitch McConnell for bitter opposition to his friend Elbridge Colby

For JD Vance, Sen. Mitch McConnell’s vote against his friend Elbridge Colby for Pentagon policy chief was personal and the vice president voiced his disappointment with the Kentucky senator on social media.

Treasury Secretary Bessent met with lawmakers ahead of widespread tariffs going into effect

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was on Capitol Hill today for meetings as Republican lawmakers have expressed some concerns over President Trump’s sweeping tariffs sent to go into effect at midnight.

His visit came as the stock market continued its plunge after recovering slightly earlier in the day.

The top economic official indicated that countries are reaching out to make deals with the U.S. and negotiations are underway.

His visit came after U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer was also on the hill to testify about the tariffs.

He also said negotiations were underway but he expected the tariffs to go into effect and that there would not be exemptions.

Usha Vance reveals how she feels about her new MAGA life

Usha Vance breaks her silence about her new life as Second Lady of the United States in an article with The Free Press.

The eye-popping fine illegal migrants will have to pay per DAY if they don’t voluntarily leave the U.S.

Jon Michael Raasch, Political Reporter for DailyMail.com

The Trump administration has announced fines for illegal immigrants under deportation orders who refuse to leave the country.

Those who are in the U.S. illegally and refuse to leave will be charged $998 per day until they go, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced.

‘If they don’t [leave], they will face the consequences,’ a DHS spokesperson said.

‘This includes a fine of $998 per day for every day that the illegal alien overstayed their final deportation order.’

Officials are planning to roll out the fines under a rarely used 1996 law that allows fines to be imposed on those avoiding removal orders.

The law was first enforced in 2018 under the Republican’s first term.

However, Joe Biden’s administration suspended the rule in 2021, saying the penalties were ‘ineffective and unnecessary punitive measures.’

One senior Trump administration official said the fines will be retroactive up to five years, dating back to 2019, which could result in penalties totaling over $1 million in some circumstances.

Karoline Leavitt’s eyebrow-raising response

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had an eye-raising response to the war of words Elon Musk and Peter Navarro are having over Donald Trump’s tariff agenda.

‘Boys will be boys,’ she said at her Tuesday press briefing.

Musk and traded adviser Peter Navarro have escalated their fighting over the president’s trade war. In the latest salvo, Musk called Navarro a ‘moron’ and ‘dumber than a sack of bricks’ as tensions between the two exploded over Trump’s tariff increases.

‘We will let their public sparring continue,’ Leavitt said of their bickering, which has played out over social media.

Greer closes by insisting the country voted for Trump ‘and his trade policy’

Senator Ron Wyden closed with a question about Americans hurting now and warned people are seeing their 401Ks ‘go up in smoke.’

‘When will those hurting now see real relief?’ Wyden asked.

Greer: “The country decisively voted for this president and his trade policy. He knows how to use tariffs appropriately to negotiate deals where necessary and to drive investment and manufacturing back to the U.S.”

Wyden said no one disputes the president won the election but said they were not told people would be hurting now due to flawed trade policy.

He claimed peopel have been ‘wiped out financially.’

CBP slams ‘false’ claims travelers’ phones searched at airports for anti-Trump texts as paranoia skyrockets

Jon Michael Raasch, Political Reporter for DailyMail.com

Border officials are pushing back on reports indicating that the Trump administration is abnormally searching foreigners’ phones at U.S. customs in border airports.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) denied entry to 329 individuals traveling through John F. Kennedy International Airport in February and March, the agency recently announced.

According to CBP, officials at the JFK port of entry removed 135 inadmissible aliens in February. In March, officials removed 194 of them at the airport.

JFK is the sixth busiest airport in the country by passenger volume and is the most popular U.S. airport for international travelers.

The 44 percent month-over-month increase indicates that enforcement operations are ramping up since a memo from the Trump administration ordering ‘enhanced screening.’

News of increased arrests and deportations after flying into the United States – including tales of agents searching passengers’ phones for anti-Trump content – have sparked paranoia.

Senate votes to confirm Elbridge Colby to serve as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy

The Senate voted 54 to 45 to confirm Elbridge Colby to be Under Secretary of Defense for Policy.

Three Democratic senators voted in favor of confirming him including Kelly, Reed and Slotkin.

Republican Senator Mitch McConnell voted against his confirmation while Senator David McCormick did not vote.

US Supreme Court halts reinstatement of fired federal employees

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday blocked a judge’s order for President Donald Trump’s administration to rehire thousands of fired employees.

The court put on hold San Francisco-based U.S. Judge William Alsup’s March 13 injunction requiring six federal agencies to reinstate thousands of recently hired probationary employees while litigation challenging the legality of the dismissals continues.

Alsup’s ruling applied to probationary employees at the U.S. Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy, Department of Interior and the Treasury Department.

Trump’s administration had urged the Supreme Court to lift Alsup’s order, contending that the judge had overstepped his authority in directing the reinstatement of 16,000 employees.

Tillis questions the ‘alla prima approach’ with slapping tariffs across the board

Tills questions the logic of the tariff policy and he’s waiting to see it to be successful.

‘It just seems like we’ve decided to begin a trade war on all fronts,’ Tillis said.

‘That’s ok if the person who thought this through has an answer for why you go after partners that we have a very long storied relationship with, maybe we give some developing countries a break because we’re actually trying to get their economies functioning, maybe make them look to the west versus to Chinese investment,’ he added.

He said he’s getting his head around the ‘alla prima approach.’

Tillis questioned if over the next 14 months there will be certainty for those who bear the brunt of the tariffs that it will be resolved.

‘I wish you well, but I am skeptical,’ Tillis said.

Senator Johnson ‘disappointed’ tariff exclusions are not being considered

Sarah Ewall-Wice, Senior U.S. Political Reporter:

Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin said he is ‘disappointed’ to hear some exclusions are being ruled out.

He said there are very specifics situations where exclusions should be considered.

The MAGA Republican said he doesn’t usually agree with Democrats but noted he does agree when they bring up concerns about small businesses in their states.

‘I hope that you and the president are very sensitive about companies potentially going bankrupt by these actions,’ Johnson said.

He said they want fair trade but warned tariffs are a ‘double edged sword’ and a ‘somewhat blunt instrument.’

Greer noted when asked about what needs to be reshored some things were excludes from tariffs such as semi-conductors, pharmaceuticals, some metals and minerals.

Greer noted when asked about what needs to be reshored some things were excludes from tariffs such as semi-conductors, pharmaceuticals, some metals and minerals.

‘You know there are other products that are also crucial that you are applying tariffs to,’ Johnson said.

Greer responded that they are doing investigations on things like pharmaceuticals.

‘What we cannot have is the status quo,’ he claimed.

Johnson closed by warning there will be an ‘awful lot of collateral damage’ to the tariffs.

Greer says administration is looking ‘very closely’ at retaliation threats

Senator Todd Young noted that trade retaliation falls on everyone differently.

He asked if USTR are mapping out which sectors and regions are going to ‘bear the brunt’ of retaliatory measures and thinking about contingency plans.

Greer said they are looking at it ‘very closely.’

‘The good news so far is that most countries have said they are not going to retaliate on this, and they would like to seek to talk to us first, find out more about the program, what they can do to meet our goals,’ Greer said.

Hassan presses Green on if Trump will reverse course if tariffs lead to higher inflation

Senator Hassan asked if the president would reverse course if the tariffs led to 10 percent inflation.

‘Senator, the president is fixed in his purpose,’ Greer responded.

‘This trade deficit and the offshore and the loss of manufacturing jobs is something that’s persisted for too long and it’s dangerous,’ he said.

She also asked him whether a 50 percent stock market crash would lead to the administration reversing course.

Greer refused to say. He called her hypotheticals not consistent with what has been seen with tariffs.

Trade rep: Trump has no intention to include tariff exemptions

Senator James Lankford (R-OK) noted businesses are scrambling and asked about exemptions to the tariffs as some Republicans have called for specific carve outs to the tariffs.

The president has been clear with me and with others that he does not intend to have exclusions and exemptions especially given the nature of the action,’ Greer told him.

Trade rep says there is no timeline on reaching trade deals

Sarah Ewall-Wice, Senior U.S. Political Reporter:

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer indicated there is not set timeline on reaching trade deals as the U.S. is set to impose tariffs.

In response to a question about the timeline from Senator James Lankford (R-OK), Greer said the president has indicated that he’s willing to negotiate.

‘We don’t have any particular timeline set on that,’ he told Lankford.

He said the outcome is a deal and insisted they’re moving as ‘quickly as possible.’

Trump assassin suspect’s shocking ties to Ukraine revealed

By Katelyn Caralle, Senior U.S. Political Reporter

Ryan Wesley Routh sought to purchase a rocket launcher from Ukraine the month before he was arrested for allegedly attempting to assassination President Donald Trump.

The alleged would-be assassin was corresponding on an encrypted messaging app with someone he believed to be a Ukrainian with access to military weapons, a Justice Department filing in the Southern District of Florida claims.

It goes on to say that Routh, 58, asked this associate to ‘send me an rpg [rocket propelled grenade] or stinger and I will see what we can do…[Trump] is not good for Ukraine.’

‘I need equipment so that Trump cannot get elected,’ Routh said, according to the filing.

Prosecutors allege that this correspondence, which included discussion over price and shipment of such anti-aircraft weapons, is further proof of Routh’s intent to assassinate Trump.

U.S. trade rep says tariffs will go into effect tomorrow as announced

Sarah Ewall-Wice, Senior U.S. Political Reporter:

Senator Wyden asked of the higher tariffs will go into effect tomorrow, April 9, as announced.

‘Senator, yes they are scheduled to go into effect. We are having negotiations with all kinds of countries at this time,’ U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said. ‘The president is fixed in his purpose.’

He said the nature of the ‘emergency’ is not something they can wait on anymore.

They will couple the tariffs with immediate negotiations.

He said there are about 50 countries in negotiations but did not want to prejudge the negotiations.

Greer insisted ‘many markets’ have said they will not retaliate to tariffs.

However, it does not appear that a deal will be reached with China any time soon.

‘I don’t think that’s in the very near term with China,’ he said of reaching a deal.

Wyden noted that Greer claimed the policies are already ‘bearing fruit’ but said for people’s 401Ks ‘that’s pretty rotten fruit.’

Trump’s U.S. Trade representative says countries are approaching him directly to make deals

Sarah Ewall-Wice, Senior U.S. Political Reporter:

President Trump’s U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is appearing before the Senate Finance Committee this morning as the world reacts with concern over the president’s trade policy.

Greer in his opening remarks touted Trump’s announcement on April 2 that the U.S. will impose tariffs on all countries which sent the markets into turmoil.

‘The president’s strategy is already bearing fruit,’ Greer told senators.

He said more than 50 countries have approached him directly wanting to make deals. He name dropped Argentina, Indiana, Vietnam and Israel.

Greer also claimed Trump’s policies have also resulted in $4 trillion in new investments in the U.S. as the president has announced a series of tariffs since his first day back in office.

Trump touts clean coal

President Donald Trump will sign an executive order at 3 pm to expand the mining and use of coal inside the US.

The order will also seek to revive a declining US fossil fuel industry.

The executive order will direct a number of steps by the federal government meant to reinvigorate coal, a senior White House official told Bloomberg News.

Trump touts ‘probable’ deal with South Korea as Bessent talks up negotiations and markets rise

By Geoff Earle, Deputy U.S. Political Editor

President Donald Trump posted about a ‘great call’ with South Korea’s acting president, and claimed the ‘probability’ of a deal that might head off a trade battle with the key ally.

‘We have the confines and probability of a great DEAL for both countries. Their top TEAM is on a plane heading to the U.S., and things are looking good,’ Trump posted. ‘We are likewise dealing with many other countries, all of whom want to make a deal with the United States.

Han Duck-soo is serving as acting president amid political chaos in Seoul.

Treasury secretary Scott Bessent, also talked up the possibility of progress Tuesday as nations seek to roll back big tariffs that Trump imposed last week based on trade deficits with the U.S., setting off market turmoil. ‘I would say the negotiations are a result of the massive inflow of inbound calls to come and negotiate,’ Bessent said. ‘It had nothing to do with the market.’

He predicted big countries with big trade deficits would ‘come forward very quickly’ and mentioned the possibility of ‘good deals.’

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, after getting hammered for three successive trading days, was up 1,300 points in early morning trading.

Trump’s warning to China

Donald Trump’s Treasury Secretary warned China it was making a ‘big mistake’ in escalating the tariff war, warning they don’t have the goods to back up their threat.

‘I think it was a big mistake, this Chinese escalation, because they’re playing with a pair of twos,’ Scott Bessent told CNBC’s Squawk Box on Tuesday morning.

‘We are the deficit country. What do we lose by the Chinese raising tariffs on us? We export one-fifth to them of what they export to us, so that is a losing hand for them.’

Beijing vowed to fight the president’s tariffs to ‘the end’ and imposed 34% tariffs on U.S. products in response to the 34% imposed on them by the White House.

Trump to meet with House Republicans on budget

President Donald Trump will meet with House Republicans at 1 pm at the White House.

The group includes lawmakers who have whipped no or lean no on the budget resolution, Punch Bowl news reported.

Many conservatives have said they’re a ‘no’ on the budget resolution already passed by the Senate. The resolution establishes Trump’s legislative agenda of tax cuts, border funding and energy policy.

That leaves Speaker Mike Johnson with a lot of votes to put in his corner.

Trump’s schedule for Tuesday is pretty packed. He is also planting a commemorative tree at 10:30 am and signing an executive order on energy at 3:30 pm.

MAGA Fox News star Jesse Watters deals Trump very backhanded compliment

The anchor mocked himself on The Five on Monday after showing clips of Democrats criticizing Trump for playing golf while global markets lost trillions over the weekend.

Watters said Trump playing golf during the crisis ‘is not a middle finger to middle America – that’s a middle finger to all these foreign countries who are trying to get on the phone and negotiate these tariffs down.’

Only one of world’s top 500 billionaires didn’t lose money from Trump’s tariffs

Warren Buffett is the only top 500 billionaire to profit from President Donald Trump’s tariffs that have panicked the global stock market.

New figures from the Bloomberg Billionaires Index shows that 499 of the world’s 500 richest men have seen their fortunes decline since Trump took office and sent the global economy into turmoil with his destructive trade war.

First Buddy Elon Musk, who over the weekend made direct yet unsuccessful appeals to the president to reverse tariffs, has experienced a $130billion year-to-date loss in his net worth, according to the data.

China will ‘fight to the end’ in trade war

China blasted what it called ‘blackmailing’ by the United States over tariffs.

It vowed ‘countermeasures’ if Washington imposes tariffs on top of the 34 percent extra that are already due to come into force on Wednesday.

Beijing’s commerce ministry said:

If the US insists on going its own way, China will fight it to the end.

Peter Navarro ‘guarantees’ no recession and Dow will hit 50,000

President Donald Trump’s senior counselor for trade Peter Navarro said the crashing stock market will turn soon.

It’s finding a bottom now. It’s finding a bottom now, but look, here’s the thing, it’s going to shift over and it’s going to be companies in the S&P 500 who are the first to produce here.

Those are the ones going to lead to recovery, and it’s going to happen. Dow 50,000, I guarantee that, and I guarantee no recession. Because, when we pass the biggest, broadest tax cut in history within a matter of months, that’s going to be a great stimulus. There’s not going to be any inflation. We’ve already had a significant drop, a huge drop in oil prices. We’re going to have have lower yields and mortgage.

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Trump threatens 104% tariff on China as trade war escalates hours before negotiating deadline: Live updates

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