China has tools to ease negative impact of Trump’s tariffs – expert

He shared his opinions with Espreso TV.

"China has been following a long-term strategy of diversifying its trade. They learned lessons from Trump’s previous term. We can say that China's trade ties have grown most actively with Southeast Asian countries. China has also been expanding in Latin America — trading more, opening offices, investing in infrastructure, and building production facilities," Yefremov said.

The expert noted that U.S. tariffs can definitely hurt China’s economy.

“Trump’s tariffs will hit China hard and cause real problems. But Beijing has been preparing for this and already put things in place to reduce the damage,” he said.

U.S. tariffs on all countries

On April 2, Donald Trump announced new tariffs of at least 10% on nearly all goods imported into the U.S. The tariffs are set to take effect on April 9.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called on affected countries not to respond immediately with countermeasures, warning that it could lead to escalation.

Soon after, Trump declared a national emergency to “boost competitiveness, protect sovereignty, and strengthen national and economic security.”

However, just one day after the tariffs were introduced, the combined wealth of the world’s 500 richest people dropped by $208 billion.

Later, UK carmaker Jaguar Land Rover said it would pause car sales to the U.S. for a month following Trump’s 25% tariff. Audi did the same.

Meanwhile, on April 7, Trump warned that if China didn’t remove its 34% tariffs by April 8, the U.S. would hit back with even higher tariffs. The next day, the U.S. announced 104% tariffs on Chinese goods.

That same day, Ursula von der Leyen said the EU had offered the U.S. zero tariffs on industrial goods after Trump introduced the new measures.