Trump gives China one day to end retaliations or face extra 50% tariffs

Tech companies' worst nightmare ahead of Donald Trump's election has already come true, as the US and China are now fully engaged in a tit-for-tat trade war, where China claims it expects to be better positioned to withstand US blows long-term.

Trump has claimed that Americans must take their "medicine," bearing any pains from tariffs while waiting for supposed long-term gains from potentially pressuring China—and every other country, including islands of penguins—into a more favorable trade deal. On Monday, tech companies across the US likely winced when Trump threatened to heap "additional" 50 percent tariffs on China, after China announced retaliatory 34 percent tariffs on US imports and restricted US access to rare earth metals.

Posting on Truth Social, Trump gave China one day to withdraw tariffs to avoid higher US tariffs.

As of this writing, the trade rivals remain in a stand-off, with US tech companies taking hits in the form of higher costs and supply chain disruptions from both sides.

Trump is apparently hoping that his threat will send China cowering before their retaliatory tariffs kick in April 10, while China appears to feel that it has little reason to back down. According to CNN, "a flurry of state media coverage and government statements" flooded Chinese news sites over the weekend, reassuring Chinese citizens and businesses that "US tariffs will have an impact (on China), but 'the sky won’t fall.'"

“Since the US initiated the (first) trade war in 2017—no matter how the US fights or presses—we have continued to develop and progress, demonstrating resilience—'the more pressure we get, the stronger we become,'" a Sunday story in the "Chinese Communist Party’s mouthpiece People’s Daily read," CNN reported.