China accuses US of 'blackmail' after Trump threat
Newshour
BBC
4.4 • 984 Ratings
🗓️ 8 April 2025
⏱️ 47 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
China has accused the United States of "blackmail" after President Trump threatened to slap an extra 50% tariff on Chinese imports.
On Monday, Trump gave China until Tuesday to scrap its 34% counter tariff or face an additional 50% tax on goods imported into the US, meaning US companies could face a total rate of 104% on Chinese imports. China has said it will "fight to the end" as it called Trump's moves "bullying".
Also in the programme: Is a new 'Iran Deal' possible as talks between the US and Iran are announced?; and how Madonna and Elton John have apparently 'buried the hatchet'.
(Photo shows China's president Xi Jinping speaks during a meeting in Beijing, China on 28 March 2025. Credit: Ken Ishii/EPA)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to NewsHour live from the BBC World Service in London. I'm Rebecca Kesb. It's been a steadier day so far on the world's stock markets, but the standoff between the United States and China is heating up. Yesterday, President Trump threatened to slap an additional 50% on Chinese imports |
| 0:23.5 | to the US if China doesn't drop its counter tariffs. In effect, that would mean a whopping |
| 0:29.5 | 104% total tariff on any Chinese imports to the United States. It's fighting talk, but it hasn't persuaded Beijing, |
| 0:39.0 | because today China vowed to fight to the end in any trade war with the United States. |
| 0:45.1 | And the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jiang accused Washington of trying to blackmail Beijing. |
| 0:52.3 | I want to stress once again that trade wars, tariff wars, have no winners, and protectionism |
| 0:59.4 | has no way out. |
| 1:01.2 | Chinese people don't make trouble, but aren't afraid of it. |
| 1:05.1 | Pressure, threats and blackmail, and not the right way to deal with China. |
| 1:10.0 | China will take necessary measures to firmly safeguard |
| 1:12.8 | its legitimate rights and interests. If the US ignores the interests of the two countries |
| 1:18.1 | and the international community and insists on a tariff war and a trade war, China will fight it to the end. |
| 1:26.3 | Well, in a moment, we'll hear about the historic trade relationships between the US and China. |
| 1:33.0 | How have we got here? |
| 1:34.6 | But first, let's hear from one American businesswoman who says that her company is already being affected by the Tariff Rao. |
| 1:43.7 | Jessica Batancourt is president and |
| 1:46.0 | CEO of Clems Online. It's a hardware shop. It sells all kinds of goods ranging from toys to |
| 1:51.9 | gardening equipment, and she's in Massachusetts. I am already getting price changes. I had one |
| 1:59.2 | vendor this morning that is expecting prices to go up 47%. This has not |
| 2:05.0 | been a fun ride so far this year and it just seems like it's going to get harder and harder. |
| 2:10.7 | I have products that I've already ordered. That primarily comes from China and I am afraid that products that I've already ordered are going to |
| 2:20.6 | come in and be too expensive. For Q3 and Q4, we've placed some orders. Now we're basically like |
... |
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