China’s immediate reaction to President Donald Trump’s decision imposing additional 10% tariffs for goods imported from China was a response to the decision.

Donald Trump and Xi Jinping canceled a phone call scheduled for Tuesday, after China announced retaliatory duties on the US.

Mr Trump was scheduled to meet Mr Xi Tuesday just hours after imposing new tariffs against the second-largest economy in the world.

China responded within minutes by imposing tariffs on US imports, and notifying several companies including Google of possible sanctions.

The President said that he was “not in a hurry” to talk to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, despite the expectation of a telephone call to discuss the escalating US/China trade war.

Mr Trump claimed that the tariffs against China were only “an opening salvo”.

“If we don’t reach a deal with China then the tariffs will be very, very significant,” he said.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the call was cancelled despite Peter Navarro’s claim that they would discuss a possible tariff pause.

When asked if the talks could lead to a similar reprieve being granted to Mexico and Canada for Beijing, Mr Navarro replied: “It depends on the boss.” I never get in front of my boss.”

He said: “Let’s wait and see what happens today.”

The American tariffs were also set to take effect on Tuesday, but Mr Trump decided to give the country a 30-day break to act on his concerns regarding border security and drug trafficking.

John Gong is a professor of International Business and Economics at the University of Beijing. He called China’s reaction “measured”.

He said, “I don’t think they want a trade war to escalate.” “They see the example of Canada and Mexico, and they probably hope for the same thing.”

In 2018, during Mr Trump’s first term, China and the US were engaged in a tit-fortat trade conflict that escalated as he raised tariffs against Chinese products, prompting Beijing to retaliate.

China announced that it would impose a tariff of 15% on coal, liquefied gas, and agricultural machinery, as well as 10% on large engine cars, crude oil and other products imported from the US.

China’s State Council Tariff Commission said that the unilateral increase in US tariffs by the US violated the World Trade Organization’s rules.

“It not only damages normal economic and trading cooperation between China, and the US, but also hinders its own efforts to solve its own problems.”

It is possible that the impact on US exports will be minimal. Although the US is the largest exporter of LNG (liquid natural gas) in the world, it exports little to China.

According to the US Energy Information Administration, in 2023 the US exported 173,247 millions cubic feet of LNG (or about 2.3% of its total gas exports) to China.

Experts have warned that the engine tax could be painful to General Motors as it adds the GMC Yukon and the Chevrolet Tahoe to its China lineup.

Ford, which exports its Mustang and F-150 Raptor truck could also feel the pain.

Hedge funds sold shares of North American and European firms last month, a sign the top money managers in the world are preparing themselves for a global economic recession.

Goldman Sachs data shows that hedge funds sold stocks they thought were vulnerable to a recession in January. This was due to growing concern about the market and global economic downturn.

The funds focused instead on buying shares most likely to survive any incoming recession. This included picking stocks that produce reliable returns no matter what the state of economy is, such as healthcare or utilities companies.

The European Union has also said that it is eager to have a rapid dialogue with the United States about Mr Trump’s proposed tariffs.

Maros Sfcovic, the trade chief, said that he was looking for an “early commitment” and was waiting confirmations on Mr Trump’s choice of Howard Lutnick as commerce secretary and Jamieson Greer, US Trade Representative.

He told reporters, “We are prepared to engage immediately. We hope that this early engagement will allow us to avoid measures that would cause a great deal of disruption to the most important relationship in trade and investment on the planet.”

Mr Navarro claimed that Europe hurts the United States by its value-added tax on automobiles. All cars sold in EU countries are subject to VAT.

The Telegraph has learned that Mr Trump is considering plans for a 10% tariff on blocks.

A source in Mr Trump’s Administration said that there wasn’t a broad consensus, “but some wanted to put a 10% tariff on the EU”. Source: “They are talking about imposing it on all EU imports.”

The Telegraph quoted a second source as saying: “Trump tests the waters with Canada and Mexico to see what he can get by with.”