By Brendan Scanland
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Trade tensions between the U.S. and China are escalating rapidly.
On Wednesday, President Trump offered tariff relief to dozens of countries but doubled down on China. The pause is relief for the 75 countries that chose not to retaliate against the U.S. and made an effort to negotiate with the administration. The pause was also a positive sign for investors, who saw some relief in the markets Wednesday.
But not every country is celebrating. Along with the pause on many reciprocal tariffs, President Trump also announced a significant increase in the tariff—or tax rate—on Chinese imports to 125%. Combined with an additional 20% tariff imposed earlier this year, designed to curb the flow of fentanyl into the U.S., the total tariff rate on China now stands at 145%.
As President Trump goes head-to-head with Beijing, the question remains: What will the impact be on local prices and industries?
According to the International Trade Administration:
- In 2024, Pennsylvania imported $16.6 billion worth of goods from China—its largest trading partner.
- In 2024, New York State imported $18.6 billion worth of goods from China—its third-largest trading partner, behind Canada and Switzerland.
Lawmakers were asked whether there are any plans to alleviate the financial and economic impact of these tariffs on agriculture and other key economic drivers in the region.
“We’ve got a growing economy. We’re going to pass these reconciliations for taxes, regulations—there are going to be so many positive things,” said Rep. Dan Meuser (R-PA). “The President had the courage and the bravery and the boldness to take it all on now. It’s been going on for 25, 35, 40 years. We’ve been letting people just get away with taking advantage of us,” he added.
“I’m happy to see more of the emphasis coming off of countries that play by the rules and more emphasis on China,” said Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-NY). “They are the reason that so much of our manufacturing base in western New York, in the Southern Tier, has been depleted. They’re a bad actor and they need to be brought into the rules of global engagement.”
On Wednesday, China responded by slapping retaliatory tariffs of 84% on imported U.S. goods, matching the additional tariffs imposed by President Trump—fueling an already tense trade war.
“China’s reaction was inappropriate. And I think they’re going to find that out pretty fast,” said Meuser.
“China’s been ripping us off for far too long. This country has unfortunately gotten addicted to very cheap goods from slave labor in China. And they’ve manipulated their currency. They’ve manipulated the rules of trade. They take their products to other countries and put a different country of origin name on them. I think President Trump is absolutely correct in going after the Chinese,” said Langworthy.
President Trump has also increased the tariff on lower-value items from China, worth $800 or less, from 90% to 120%. In addition, Trump plans to increase the “per postal item” cost of those goods to $100 in early May, and then to $200 in June.
