Over the weekend, China’s Ministry of Commerce urged the Trump administration to abolish the new 145% reciprocal tariffs, calling them a mistake and demanding a return to “equal dialogue.” This came right after the U.S. suddenly exempted smartphones, laptops, and chips from those steep tariffs — a move seen as a win for companies like Apple and Nvidia. Chinese state media framed it as a U.S. retreat, and hashtags like “Trump retreats again” trended on Weibo. But the White House now says this exemption is only temporary — and that new tariffs on semiconductors and pharmaceuticals may be coming.
So what’s going on here? Is this a de-escalation or just a tactical pause before more tariff hikes?
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/13/china-urges-trump-to-heed-rational-voices-on-reciprocal-tariffs.html