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China vows ‘forceful’ countermeasures as U.S. tariffs kick in

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Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian attends a news conference in China on December 20, 2021. China warned on Thursday it would take strong measures if U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, following media reports she would go next week.

Vcg | Visual China Group | Getty Images

China’s foreign ministry reiterated Wednesday that Beijing will take “resolute and forceful” measures to protect its own interests, after net total tariffs of 104% on Chinese imports into the U.S. took effect.

“If the U.S. genuinely wants to resolve the problem through dialogue and negotiation, it should show an attitude of equality, respect and mutual benefit,” Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian said.

In a separate official white paper released by the State Council Information Office on Thursday, the Chinese authority said “if the U.S. insists on further escalating its economic and trade restrictions, China will resolutely counter and fight the U.S. to the end,” according to a CNBC translation.

“The U.S. uses tariffs as a weapon to exert extreme pressure and seek selfish interests. This is a typical act of unilateralism, protectionism and economic bullying,” Beijing said in the white paper.

The Chinese administration added that raising tariffs would not help with U.S. trade surplus issues, but will instead prompt great volatility in financial markets, exacerbating inflationary pressure and undermining American industries.

Nonetheless, Beijing said it hoped the U.S. to “meet half-way” and immediately canceled the unilateral trade barriers, while reiterating its openness to strengthen dialogue, manage difference and boost collaboration.

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Trump advisor Hassett confident tariffs will stay despite judges’ ruling

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National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 14, 2025. 

Kevin Lamarque | Reuters

A top economic advisor to President Donald Trump expressed confidence Thursday that court rulings throwing out aggressive tariffs will be overturned on appeal.

Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, said in an interview that he fully believes the administration’s efforts to use tariffs to ensure fair trade are perfectly legal and will resume soon.

“We’re right that America has been mishandled by other governments,” Hassett said during a Fox Business interview. “This trade negotiation season has been really, really effective for the American people.”

The comments follow a ruling from judges on the Court of International Trade who said Trump exceeded his authority on tariffs, which are aimed both at combating barriers against American goods abroad and stemming the flow of fentanyl across the U.S. border.

While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that fentanyl is the primary driver in domestic overdose deaths, the judges ruled that related tariffs “fail because they do not deal with the threats set forth in those orders.”

Hassett bristled at the ruling and said the administration will continue its anti-fentanyl efforts.

“These activist judges are trying to slow down something right in the middle of really important negotiations,” he said. “The idea that the fentanyl crisis in America is not an emergency is so appalling to me that I am sure that when we appeal, this decision will be overturned.”

The administration has multiple options to get around the judges’ ruling, including other sections of trade laws it can utilize. However, Hassett said that’s not the plan at the moment.

“The fact is that there are measures that we can take with different numbers that we can start right now. There are different approaches that would take a couple of months to put these in place,” he said. “We’re not planning to pursue those right now, because we’re very very confident that this ruling is incorrect.”

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Economics

America’s immigration detention centres are at capacity

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IN APRIL Todd Lyons, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), lamented that it takes too long to deport illegal immigrants. At the Border Security Expo in Phoenix he told a crowd of startup bosses vying for government contracts that a better deportation system would function more like Amazon, the tech giant whose delivery drivers zigzag the country at record speed. “Like Prime, but with human beings,” he said.

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Economics

Demand for American degrees is sinking

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Trump’s war on universities is driving talent away

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