China has been ‘isolated’ amid U.S. tariffs, Bill Ackman says
China has been “isolated as a bad actor” as a result of mounting trade tensions and tariff impositions with the U.S., billionaire investor Bill Ackman said Thursday in a social media post.
“Every American company is immediately moving their supply chains out of China back to the U.S. or to trading partners of the U.S. who are likely to make favorable tariff deals with the U.S. Time is not China’s friend,” he noted.
“As more time goes by, more companies find other and better alternative suppliers outside of China. So China is incentivized to come to the table soon and to be reasonable in their negotiations.”
Washington has doubled down on trade levies with Beijing, which has in turn resorted to countermeasures and complaints to the World Trade Organization. While granting most other nations a tariff reprieve on Wednesday, Trump raised duties against imports from the world’s second largest economy to 125%. China had earlier in the day raised its own tariffs on U.S. goods to 84% in response to White House policies.
— Ruxandra Iordache
South Korea races to prioritize lowering tariffs with U.S.
South Korea will press ahead with efforts to lower tariffs rates in talks with Washington, after acting President Han Duck-soo’s phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump, according to South Korean outlet Yonhap.
South Korea, which exported roughly $127.8 billion to the U.S. in 2024, had been slapped with a 25% tariff rate under the White House announcements of April 2, prior to Trump’s temporary reversal of Wednesday.
“As high-level talks have taken place, we will now prepare concrete proposals and begin negotiations on individual issues with relevant trade authorities,” an official from the South Korean Prime Minister’s Office told reporters on Wednesday. “Our foremost goal is to adjust (U.S.) tariff rates.”
— Ruxandra Iordache
Chinese tariffs of 84% kick in on U.S. imports
Higher tariffs from China on U.S. imports have kicked in at 12.01 p.m. Beijing time, raising the tariff rate from 34% to 84%.
On Wednesday, China’s ministry of finance announced the 84% tariff rate after U.S. President Donald Trump had increased tariffs on Chinese imports to the U.S. to a net total tariff of 104%.
Trump later raised the tariff on China again, to 125% at about 1.18 a.m. Thursday, saying it would take effect “immediately”.
— Lim Hui Jie