Politics

Donald Trump says he will impose tariffs of more than 60% on China if he returns to the White House

Former US President Donald Trump (left) and Chinese leader Xi Jinping (right) during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in 2019.
Former US President Donald Trump (left) and Chinese leader Xi Jinping (right) during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in 2019. Trump had been in office from 2017 to 2020. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
Read in app

Former President Donald Trump says he will introduce tariffs of more than 60% on Chinese goods if he wins November's election.

"No, I would say maybe it's going to be more than that," Trump said on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures," when host Maria Bartiromo referenced a report by The Washington Post. The Post reported that Trump was considering a flat 60% tariff on Chinese imports.

The former president brushed aside claims that he would start another trade war if elected in 2024.

"You know, obviously, I'm not looking to hurt China. I want to get along with China. I think it's great. But they've really taken advantage of our country," Trump told Bartiromo in an interview that aired Sunday.

When asked for comment, a representative for the Trump campaign pointed to Trump's campaign and policy platform on trade.

The Trump administration was known for its strident approach toward trade relations with China.

Back in 2018, Trump directed his administration to start imposing tariffs on various Chinese goods. This resulted in a tit-for-tat trade war when China retaliated with its own slate of tariffs.

"When a country (USA) is losing many billions of dollars on trade with virtually every country it does business with, trade wars are good, and easy to win," Trump wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, in 2018.

Read next

Kwan Wei Kevin Tan
Kwan Wei Kevin Tan
Kevin was a reporter at Business Insider's Singapore bureau. He reported primarily on the ins and outs of the business world, whether it be breaking news, covering CEO moves, tracking quarterly earnings, or writing explainers.He also covered careers and workplace issues, and has written about career transitions, the FIRE lifestyle, the college internship arms race, and the job hunt struggles faced by computer science majors.BackgroundKevin joined Business Insider's Singapore bureau in 2023. Before that, he was a civil servant at Singapore's Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment. He was appointed to the Singapore government's Public Service Leadership Programme, a talent development programme that develops capable and talented individuals for key leadership positions in the public service.Kevin’s journalism career began in college, where he first worked as a researcher for Channel NewsAsia and The Economist, and later as an intern reporter at Bloomberg News. In 2017, the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust awarded him the Leading Change Journalism Bursary. His stories have appeared in numerous publications, including Fortune, The Japan Times, and The Edge Singapore.Kevin holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the National University of Singapore, where he was an NUS Merit Scholar. He was also the recipient of the PwC Whole Leadership Award, the NTUC Income Prize, the CFA Singapore Prize, and the Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Prize.