By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
WASHINGTON (Worthy News) – White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that President Donald J. Trump’s tariffs, including the steep duties set for Chinese imports, will go into effect just after midnight (Eastern Standard Time), stalling a big bounce-back rally on Wall Street Tuesday.
Leavitt said China’s retaliatory tariffs were a mistake, and in response, the administration would increase China’s total tariff rate to a whopping 104 percent at midnight.
Since taking office, Trump has already placed 20 percent tariffs on Chinese imports. He was set to increase the rate by 34 percent starting Wednesday, but he said he would add an additional 50 percent because of China’s retaliation.
Leavitt said the administration would prioritize allies as advisers consider deals to lower tariffs.
It stalled a rally on Wall Street Tuesday, with volatility picking up in the afternoon. The Dow industrials index rose 1461 points early, reflecting investor faith that the administration may deliver on talk of potential trade deals.
However, by late afternoon, they were down 0.5 percent. The S&P 500 index of America’s leading companies fell 1.7 percent, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq index was off by more than 2 percent after each rallied more than 4 percent earlier in the turbulent day.
Despite the market impact of his tariffs, President Trump hit back hard against China but left the door open for talks to lower tariffs on other countries.
“They can both be true,” Trump said Monday, when asked whether the tariffs are permanent or up for negotiation.
Trump’s remarks left countries and industries to fend for themselves ahead of his self-imposed deadline Wednesday for imposing steep duties on nations such as China, Japan, and Vietnam.
Officials said more than 50 countries hadcontacted the White House in recent days to try to cut a deal with Trump, putting the president in the middle of a rush to avoid an all-outtrade war that critics warn could lead to a global recession.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
More Worthy News
Israel expanded its military campaign against Hezbollah on Monday, striking more than 70 targets across Lebanon as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to increase pressure on the Iranian-backed terror group following a sharp rise in drone and rocket attacks on northern Israel.
A federal appeals court is weighing whether Kansas City can use its public accommodation ordinance to require Christian counselors to counsel gay married couples despite the counselors’ biblical convictions on marriage and sexuality.
Tens of thousands of evangelical Christians gathered in the Netherlands for one of Europe’s largest multi-day Christian events, with organizers and participants expressing hopes for spiritual revival in the nation and across Europe.
President Donald Trump pushed back Monday against sharp criticism from Republicans and former administration officials over a potential U.S.-Iran agreement, insisting that any final accord must prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon or it will not be signed.
President Donald Trump said Monday that countries involved in negotiations over Iran should be required to join the Abraham Accords, signaling that the White House is seeking to turn a possible Iran agreement into a wider regional realignment that includes normalization with Israel.
Tensions remained high in Serbia’s capital Belgrade on Sunday after at least tens of thousands of people demanded elections and rallied against what they view as the increasingly authoritarian rule of President Aleksandar Vučić, with violence erupting after the protest and more than 20 people arrested.
Investigations were ongoing Sunday into the killing of three senior Kuki-Thadou Christian church leaders by unidentified gunmen in India’s northeastern Manipur State, Christian investigators told Worthy News.