'To throw Americans out of work start a trade war': China counters Trump's tariffs using Ronald Reagan's words

In a dramatic escalation of the ongoing US-China trade conflict, China has invoked former US President Ronald Reagan's words in response to the recent tariff hikes imposed by President Donald Trump. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning released a video on the platform X, featuring a 1987 radio address by Reagan, in which he warned against the perils of protectionism.

Reagan's quote, "The surest way to destroy those jobs and throw Americans out of work is to start a #tradewar," was prominently highlighted, aiming to undermine the rationale behind the recent US tariff measures.

The trade war between the US and China continues to intensify, with President Trump having announced a significant increase in tariffs on Chinese goods, referring to them as "reciprocal tariffs." The US raised tariffs from 10% to a staggering 104%, a move that has been met with a robust response from Beijing. In retaliation, China increased its tariffs from a planned 34% to 84%, signalling a sharp escalation in the trade dispute. These measures highlight the increasingly confrontational economic relationship between the world's two largest economies. 

On 9 April, President Trump briefly paused tariffs on imports from all other countries for 90 days, excluding China from this relief. Instead, Chinese goods now face an even higher tariff of 125%, indicating Washington's strategy to isolate and economically pressure Beijing. In retaliation, China has warned of the long-term global consequences if the dispute continues to spiral. The use of Reagan's quote reflects China's strategy to challenge the Trump administration's approach by using America's own historical narrative. 

As a sign of relief, the Trump administration announced late on Friday that it would exempt several electronics, including laptops and smartphones, from these reciprocal tariffs. Guidance from US Customs and Border Protection indicated that items such as smartphones, laptops, hard drives, flat-panel monitors, and certain chips would qualify for these exemptions, benefiting major tech companies like Apple, Samsung, and Nvidia. These companies had seen significant stock market losses following Trump's tariff announcements, with Apple losing over $640 billion in market value. 

Despite these exemptions, White House deputy press secretary Kush Desai emphasised that President Trump "has made it clear America cannot rely on China to manufacture critical technologies such as semiconductors, chips, smartphones, and laptops." This statement underscores the administration's intent to reduce reliance on Chinese manufacturing, even as the trade measures create significant disruption for major technology firms.