ETF

China Faces Imminent 104% Tariff as Gold Investors Adopt a Wait-and-See Approach

Tue April 08 2025

The U.S.-China trade war is escalating once again. Under the recently announced reciprocal tariff policy by President Trump, the United States had initially planned to impose a 34% tariff on Chinese imports. However, a new development has emerged: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has announced that, starting at 12:01 AM EDT on Wednesday, the U.S. will impose tariffs as high as 104% on Chinese products.

In 2024, China recorded the largest trade surplus with the United States, amounting to $295 billion.

As these new tariffs are set to take effect at midnight, the movement of gold prices has captured intense market attention. Historically, geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty have boosted gold prices due to its traditional role as a safe-haven asset. However, in the current extremely complex and volatile global economic environment, immediate market reactions remain highly unpredictable. As a result, many investors have adopted a cautious approach.

During today’s trading session, gold futures prices climbed to an intraday high of $3,037.90 before closing at $2,998.30, down slightly by $0.50 or 0.02% (as of 5:05 PM EDT).

MarketGauge’s Chief Market Strategist, Michele Schneider, expressed a neutral and cautious stance on the current gold market. According to Schneider, the present economic climate is characterized by high and unique uncertainty that cannot be easily attributed to a single factor, unlike previous crises such as the 2008 housing liquidity crash or the 2020 pandemic. In this environment of compounded risks, she believes it’s prudent to wait for clearer trend signals before taking action.

Last week, President Trump introduced a new tariff policy imposing a minimum 10% import tax on almost all goods entering the United States, with higher tariffs for countries deemed to have significant trade barriers against U.S. imports. This move represents a major shift in the United States’ international trade strategy, effectively dismantling the global trade system that had been in place for 75 years.

This new tariff structure creates a complex web of country-specific rates. Canada and Mexico—already subjected to previously set 25% tariffs—are excluded from the new reciprocal tariff policy. Below are the new tariffs for other countries and regions:

Notably, Russia has been excluded from the list of countries facing elevated tariffs, despite the United States recording a $2.5 billion trade surplus with Russia in 2024, according to data from the U.S. Trade Representative’s office.

Source: https://nai500.com/