The Blubber

China has raised its tariffs on U.S. imports to 125%, escalating the ongoing trade dispute with Washington just hours after President Xi Jinping declared that “there are no winners in a tariff war.”

Xi made the remarks during a meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, where he invited the European Union to collaborate with China in resisting “bullying”—part of a broader effort to solidify partnerships with other global trading powers.

On Friday, China’s Ministry of Commerce announced the increase from the existing 84% tariffs on all U.S. products, reaffirming Beijing’s readiness to “fight to the end.” The ministry also hinted that this could be its final tariff escalation, stating that “at the current tariff level, there is no market acceptance for U.S. goods exported to China.”

“If the U.S. continues to impose tariffs on Chinese goods exported to the U.S., China will ignore it,” the statement said, signaling that Beijing has other countermeasures it may choose to implement.

Financial markets remained under pressure following the announcement. French President Emmanuel Macron described the U.S. president’s 90-day tariff pause—setting most tariffs at 10% until July—as “fragile.”

Asian stock indices mirrored Wall Street’s downward slide, with Japan’s Nikkei falling nearly 5%, and Hong Kong stocks on track for their steepest weekly loss since 2008. Oil prices were also expected to post their second straight week of declines.

Beijing has reportedly been in discussions with other trading partners over how to respond to Washington’s tariff strategy. China was excluded from President Trump’s 90-day pause, which eased tariffs on many countries but not on Beijing. Instead, the U.S. imposed successive increases on Chinese imports, with total duties now reaching 145%.