US President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order on 3 March 2025, increasing tariffs on Chinese products from 10% to 20%. The order amends previous actions targeting the synthetic opioid supply chain and cites China’s insufficient efforts to curb the influx of synthetic opioids like fentanyl into the US.
Earlier, President Trump signed an executive order on 30 January 2025 imposing a 10% duty on imports from China. The order also imposed a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico, which went into effect on 4 March 2025.
Meanwhile, on 4 March 2025, China announced a series of retaliatory measures, including a 15% tariff on US imports of chicken, wheat, corn, and cotton and a 10% tariff on other goods, including sorghum, soybeans, pork, beef, seafood, fruits, vegetables, and dairy products.
China’s Ministry of Commerce also announced that 15 American companies, including drone manufacturer Skydio, will be included in its export control list. This move prohibits Chinese firms from exporting dual-use equipment to these entities. Other actions involve stopping US lumber imports, revoking export permits for three US soybean companies, and launching an anti-dumping probe into certain American fibre optic products.
