The White House on Thursday clarified that China faced a minimum tariff rate of 145 percent on all imports to the United States.
A day earlier, President Trump had said that he was increasing tariffs on China to 125 percent after Beijing retaliated against his previous levies. On Thursday, the White House explained that the 125 percent is on top of a 20 percent tariff the president had previously put on goods coming from China for its role in supplying fentanyl to the United States.
That is a drastic increase on a country that supplies much of what Americans buy. China is the second largest source of imports for the United States and the primary global manufacturer of cellphones, toys, computers and other products.
The 145 percent figure is also just a floor, not a ceiling. That amount is on top of other pre-existing levies that Mr. Trump already put in place including:
25 percent tariffs on steel, aluminum, cars and car parts
Tariffs of up to 25 percent on certain Chinese goods that Mr. Trump imposed during his first term
Tariffs of varying ranges on certain products in response to violating U.S. trade rules
The rapid changes in tariffs have caused significant confusion for importers, many of whom depend on Chinese products, including major retailers as well as small businesses. For an importer bringing in a container of products, the difference between a 125 percent tariff and a 145 percent tariff can amount to thousands of dollars.
The Trump administration has exempted goods that were already in transit from the new tariffs, meaning importers have not yet started to incur them. In the case of goods shipped by air, this will happen in the next few days, while goods moving by ship will take several weeks to arrive.