US-China trade battle

Extracted Attributes

• Initiator

  Donald Trump administration, United States

• Start Date

  2018-01

• Broader Context

  Geopolitics, decoupling, supply chain dependency, Chinese mercantilism

• Key US Measures

  Tariffs, trade barriers, export restrictions

• Key China Measures

  Retaliatory tariffs, export controls (rare earth minerals)

• Actual US Tariff (2025)

  145% on Chinese goods

• Primary US Justification

  Unfair trade practices, intellectual property theft, trade deficit

• Primary China Justification

  U.S. protectionism

• Current US Administration Stance

  Maintained existing tariffs, added new tariffs (e.g., on EVs, solar panels)

• Projected Global Trade Impact (2025)

  0.2% reduction in global merchandise trade

• Proposed Trump 2nd Term Tariff (2024)

  60% on Chinese goods

• Actual China Retaliatory Tariff (2025)

  125% on American goods

• US Countermeasures to China's Export Controls

  Price floors, building strategic reserves, reshoring rare earth processing

Timeline

• U.S. President Donald Trump began imposing tariffs and other trade barriers on China, initiating the trade battle. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2018-01

• The U.S. and China reached a tense phase-one trade agreement. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2020-01

• China failed to meet its $200 billion worth of additional import targets from the phase-one agreement, partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a global economic downturn. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2020

• By the end of Trump's first presidency, the trade war was widely characterized by American media outlets as a failure for the United States. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2020

• The Trump presidential campaign proposed a 60% tariff on Chinese goods. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2024

• Under the second Trump administration, the U.S. imposed a 145% tariff on Chinese goods. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2025

• China retaliated by imposing a 125% tariff on American goods. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2025

• China strategically uses export controls on rare earth minerals. (Source: Related Documents)

  Ongoing

• The U.S. considers countermeasures like price floors and building strategic reserves to mitigate supply chain dependency. (Source: Related Documents)

  Ongoing

• Both countries have excluded certain items from their tariff lists and continue to try and find a resolution to the trade war. (Source: Wikipedia)

  Ongoing

• A Trump-Xi meeting is planned in South Korea, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent attempting to de-escalate tensions. (Source: Related Documents)

  Ongoing

China–United States trade war

An economic conflict between China and the United States has been ongoing since January 2018, when U.S. president Donald Trump began imposing tariffs and other trade barriers on China with the aim of forcing it to make changes to what the U.S. has said are longstanding unfair trade practices and intellectual property theft. The first Trump administration stated that these practices may contribute to the U.S.–China trade deficit, and that the Chinese government requires the transfer of American technology to China. In response to the trade measures, CCP general secretary Xi Jinping's administration accused the Trump administration of engaging in nationalist protectionism and took retaliatory action. Following the trade war's escalation through 2019, the two sides reached a tense phase-one agreement in January 2020; however, a temporary collapse in goods trade around the globe during the Covid-19 pandemic together with a short recession diminished the chance of meeting the target, China failed to buy the $200 billion worth of additional imports specified as part of it. By the end of Trump's first presidency, the trade war was widely characterized by American media outlets as a failure for the United States. The Biden administration kept the tariffs in place and added additional levies on Chinese goods such as electric vehicles and solar panels. In 2024, the Trump presidential campaign proposed a 60% tariff on Chinese goods. 2025 marked a significant escalation of the conflict under the second Trump administration. A series of increasing tariffs led to the U.S. imposing a 145% tariff on Chinese goods, and China imposing a 125% tariff on American goods in response; these measures are forecast to cause a 0.2% loss of global merchandise trade. Despite this, both countries have excluded certain items from their tariff lists and continue to try and find a resolution to the trade war.

Web Search Results

• The Contentious U.S.-China Trade Relationship

  After President Donald Trump began a so-called trade war with China in 2018, economic tensions between Washington and Beijing have been on the rise. Chinese officials have warned that there are “no winners” in a trade or tariff war, although President Joe Biden continued many of Trump’s policies. More on: Trade United States China World Trade Organization (WTO) China Policy Accelerator [...] U.S.-China trade roared in the two decades after China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, benefiting U.S. and Chinese consumers and companies. Recent U.S. administrations have imposed a suite of restrictions and punitive measures aimed at addressing rising economic competition with Beijing. President Donald Trump has proposed steep tariffs—as high as 145 percent—on Chinese goods in his second term, and Beijing has retaliated with its own levies. Related [...] But the U.S.-China trade relationship has only grown more combative over the past decades as U.S. policymakers have charted a progressively more assertive course as China has failed to comply.pdf "failed to comply") [PDF] with many of the WTO rules. The George W. Bush administration, responding to calls from U.S. companies for better protections, imposed some tariffs on a range of Chinese goods that were subsidized or “dumped” (i.e., sold at an abnormally low price). It also launched high-level

• A New Trade War Begun? U.S.–China Tensions Back in the Spotlight

  While a full-scale trade war is not yet inevitable, the current escalation signals that U.S.–China relations are entering a new phase of uncertainty. High-level meetings and potential decisions on further restrictions remain at the center of global attention. For the world economy, this is a test of resilience in a new geopolitical reality — one in which trade is no longer just about economics. [...] In recent weeks, trade tensions between the United States and China have visibly intensified, raising fears of a new wave of economic conflict between the world’s two largest economies. Rhetoric on both sides has become increasingly confrontational, and the growing risk of decoupling and disruptions to supply chains could have far-reaching consequences for the global economy. ### China Responds with Sanctions – Tensions After Madrid Talks [...] Renewed U.S.–China tensions: Escalating sanctions and trade restrictions spark fears of a new wave of economic confrontation China’s economy under pressure: Weak domestic indicators and limited government stimulus highlight mounting internal challenges Global implications: Rising risk of supply chain disruptions, resource shortages, and deeper geopolitical fragmentation

• Trump says threatened China tariff levels are 'not sustainable'

  > The two countries appeared poised to return to an all-out trade war late last week, after China on Thursday announced a major expansion of its rare earths export controls. Trump responded on Friday by threatening to raise tariffs on Chinese goods to triple-digit levels, sending financial markets and U.S.-China relations into a tailspin. Bessent and other officials have sought to get ties back on track in a series of interviews this week. Read more here. Grace O'Donnell [...] ## US ships built in China exempt from new port fees Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said that US-owned and operated cargo ships built in China would be exempt from new docking fees. The tit-for-tat dock fees took effect on Tuesday, marking a key front in the US-China trade war. From FreightWaves: > The trade partners are charging vessels around $50 per net ton on each voyage calling the other’s ports, as relations have deteriorated over the past two weeks. [...] > The move, announced on Tuesday when the U.S. and China began charging additional port fees targeting each other's vessels, comes ahead of an expected meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in late October to resolve the protracted trade war between the world's two largest economies.

• China–United States relations - Wikipedia

  conflict", with Biden stating in late 2022 that "there needs to not be a new Cold War". Despite efforts at diplomatic engagement, U.S.-China trade and political relations have reached their lowest point in years, largely due to disagreements over technology and China's military growth and human rights record. In his second term, President Donald Trump sharply escalated the trade war with China, raising baseline tariffs on Chinese imports to an effective 145%, prior to negotiating with China on [...] President Donald Trump, who had promised an assertive stance towards China as a part of his campaign, which began to be implemented upon his taking office. Issues included China's militarization of the South China Sea, alleged manipulation of the Chinese currency, and Chinese espionage in the United States. The Trump administration would label China a "strategic competitor" in 2017. In January 2018, Trump launched a trade war with China, while also restricting American companies from selling

• U.S. Trade with China: Selected Resources: Introduction

  The United States and China have several unresolved issues surrounding the bilateral trade between the two countries. The trade deficit between China and U.S. has swelled immensely as the volume of imports from China grew much more rapidly than U.S. exports to China. This large trade deficit has been an issue of concern for economists and policymakers alike. Some claim it as an indicator of Chinese unfair trade practices, while others credit the imbalance to the strength of the Chinese economy [...] The U.S. trade with China is part of a complex economic relationship. In 1979, the U.S. and China reestablished diplomatic relations and signed a bilateral trade agreement. This gave a start to a rapid growth of trade between the two nations: from $4 billion (exports and imports) that year to over $750 billion in 2022. Until February 2019 China was the largest trade partner of the United States, and currently is in third place after Canada and Mexico while it remains the biggest source of