China retaliates as Trump tariffs kick in

China will impose 84 per cent tariffs on US goods from Thursday, up from the 34 per cent previously announced, its finance ministry said on Wednesday, firing the latest salvo in a global trade war sparked by US President Donald Trump, report agencies.

Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs on dozens of countries took effect earlier on Wednesday, including massive 104 per cent duties on Chinese goods.

The EU on Wednesday adopted its first measures hitting back at President Donald Trump's tariff onslaught, targeting more than 20 billion euros of US products including soybeans, motorcycles and beauty products. "These countermeasures can be suspended at any time, should the US agree to a fair and balanced negotiated outcome," the European Commission said in a statement issued after EU member states greenlit the measures. Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned countries Wednesday against aligning with China on trade, as he defended Trump's move to remake the world's biggest economy through sweeping tariffs that have stoked market turmoil.

Bessent told a summit of bankers in Washington that economies potentially eyeing closer ties with Beijing over the US shift may want to think twice, saying "that would be cutting your own throat."

"They just keep producing and producing, dumping and dumping, and it's going somewhere," he added.

Bessent's remarks came hours after Trump's fresh tariffs on dozens of countries -- including many US allies -- kicked in, and shortly after Beijing unveiled equally steep counter tariffs.

The Treasury chief stressed also that Trump's country-specific tariff levels are "a ceiling" if governments did not retaliate, suggesting Trump would hold off from further hikes without pushback.