#美国加征关税 The U.S. increase in tariffs is a means of implementing trade protectionism.

Recent adjustments to U.S. tariffs on China

According to an executive order issued by the White House on May 12, the U.S. has rescinded the total of 91% tariffs imposed on Chinese goods (including goods from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region) under Executive Orders No. 14259 on April 8, 2025, and No. 14266 on April 9, 2025, at 00:01 Eastern Time on May 14. The U.S. has also modified the 34% reciprocal tariff measures imposed on Chinese goods under Executive Order No. 14257 on April 2, 2025, with 24% of the tariffs suspended for 90 days, while retaining the remaining 10%. Additionally, the U.S. has lowered or rescinded tariffs on small parcels from China, reducing the international mail value-added tax rate from 120% to 54%, and cancelling the measure that was originally set to increase the quantity tax from $100 to $200 per item starting June 1, 2025. In light of the U.S. adjustments, China has correspondingly adjusted relevant tariffs and non-tariff countermeasures against the U.S.

Reasons for the U.S. tariff increase

The U.S. claims that the increase in tariffs is to reduce the trade deficit, arguing that trade deficits with other countries are caused by those countries' restrictions on balancing trade through tariff and non-tariff factors. However, in reality, the main cause of the U.S. long-term trade deficit is the dollar's status as the international reserve currency, which gives the U.S. the power of “seigniorage,” boosts domestic demand, and has led it to transform from a trade surplus nation to a trade deficit nation. The U.S. attempts to decouple from other countries through tariff increases to address issues like industrial hollowing and social division brought about by globalization.

Impact of U.S. tariff increases

For the U.S. itself, while increasing tariffs can compress the trade deficit to some extent, it will impact its previously high-debt, high domestic demand growth model that relied on overseas savings, potentially triggering a disguised debt crisis. For the countries subjected to the tariff increases, such as China, external demand will be impacted, but it will also prompt China to address its insufficient domestic demand issue, enhancing economic resilience and striving for a more favorable position in the international economic and trade system. From a global perspective, the U.S. tariff increases have caused significant turmoil in global financial markets, undermining the international economic and trade order and the process of globalization.