Public sentiment is predominantly negative regarding the Trump administration's approach to trade tariffs and negotiations with China. While there is some support for a strong stance against China, skepticism prevails concerning the strategy's efficacy and the administration's understanding of trade dynamics. Many predict adverse economic impacts, including rising consumer costs. There is a strong sense of frustration and disbelief in the administration's erratic management of international trade relations.

Trump Administration

China

I've been saying we should cut off trade with China for over a decade.   Until they get rid of their ridiculous requirements to enter their market.

JoeCensored

I think it is necessary.   thi is going to get a bot ugly before it gets better but in the end, China needs us to buy their crap and a deal will get worked out.     business runs things , not governments and eventually business will get done

whydatyou

“But China says otherwise”. 
What would you expect them to say?

classicman1008

Trump does not want to lift the tariffs, he wants to handicap China permanently. The talks are just to appease the market in the short term.

Complex_Quarter6647

Quarax86

I guess negotiations aren’t going well. 

&gt; But in remarks at a business roundtable in the United Arab Emirates, the final stop on a multi-day Middle East trip, Trump said that while “150 countries” were seeking to make deals with the U.S., it was “not possible to meet the number of people that want to see us.”

No shit. 

&gt; Instead, Trump said U.S. trading partners should expect individual letters from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick “at a certain point over the next two to three weeks,” in which they would be “telling people what they will be paying to do business in the United States.”

The master negotiator once again proving he doesn’t know how to negotiate. 

So to recap: we had liberation day. Then we walked back those tariffs, except for China, who responded with reciprocal tariffs, eventually resulting in 145% import duties on Chinese goods. We were going to make trade deals with over 100 countries in 90 days, only to realize that’s not realistic, so we’re once again just going to set baseline tariffs for various countries. 

Can we all admit this administration is a joke now?

LuklaAdvocate

https://apnews.com/article/moodys-debt-government-us-rating-credit-e2c803cade9b1552b68c7e722eac3b78?utm_campaign=TrueAnthem&amp;utm_medium=AP&amp;utm_source=Facebook&amp;fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR4uanaJGXoNj1W3Sx7W9jcPQX4UomUTuC4VN432EPePwenc0LZT36E1g41oNA_aem_YX5IZgzEIrpSb8UlvD7jUA

Moody’s just stripped the US of it's top credit rating

kootles10

All Trump quotes should end with "today", for tomorrow he'll change his mind and do something else. It's the Shiny Pebbles strategy

ZanzerFineSuits

Snip, snap! Snip, snap! Snip, snap! You have no idea the physical toll that all these tarrifs have on a nation!

hextiar

Mango Moron has no clue what he's doing.  News at 11.

Educational_Impact93

We're still waiting for the announcement of the THIRD trade deal.

Think-Werewolf-4521

Cheer up! We only have to put up with this  🤡 show for 3+ more years!🙄

2020surrealworld

I am Canadian.  I don't dislike America.  At this point, I feel sorry for the citizens.  I know we have our own problems but how do run a country like this?  I do work between USA, Canada, Mexico and China.  It's terrible right now trying to move forward on projects.  So much uncertainty.  I would rather have covid lockdown back, that was easier to deal with.

photon1701d

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Prices are already spiking due to Trump's tariff.  Home Depot has raised prices on tools and other items that are manufactured outside the US.  China isn't eating the cost.  We are.

NitWhittler

reference416

[deleted]

I think it’s really funny that tariffs are such a core part of Trump’s strategy even though he seemingly has no understanding of how tariffs get levied or who pays them

It’s not as funny that I’m buying a bunch of survival beans and freaking out about a potential recession, but it’s still pretty funny

HookEmGoBlue

The Trump admin has been signaling an offramp for tariffs and China is basically saying "not interested."  Nor should they be.  China isn't coming to the table until they are enticed to do so.

It's amusing to me that Trump started this shit and now his flunkies are trying to tell China how badly \*their\* economy will suffer.  Sounds like.....what's the word.....weakness.

Big_Wave9732

FeverTreeCloud

Mexico pay for the wall
China paying for tariff

evermore88

Who’s going to eat 200% tariffs??? Ridiculous.

Potato2266

limlwl

He believes the tariffs are unsustainable for china?

I am pretty sure it will be unsustainable for US long before it becomes unsustainable for China.

SomeRandomSomeWhere

That’s why they were so upset by the Amazon rumor. Trump keeps a very thin house of cards. It’s all about creating narratives and deception. Trump is used to just creating his own narrative but has found himself in a real pickle with China. 

Current_Animator7546

\&gt; Trump and his cabinet are making no progress in any talks with China

  
They're not "making no progress," China isn't talking with them at all -- it's all a lie.

beambot

Trump claimed that he was having meetings with China and China says it was fake news.  China has officially said they were prepaid to fight this trade war and the current tariffs didn't need to be any higher as it effectively kills trade between the two countries.  What Trump doesn't understand is that a trade deficit is not a bad thing.  The US buys more from China because we have more money and we love to consume cheap things.  Guess what, we will no longer have cheap things.

China is already finding other countries to replace the US as a trade partner and once those trade agreements are in place, they won't come back to the US even after Trump is no longer in office.  Art of the Deal.

Pokerhobo

Chinese manufacturers who American companies profit off of via cheap labor are going to pay for tarriffs, not the corporations that profit. Right.

a0wner1

Narrator: they didn’t. 

China is holding ships offshore. They are waiting for a shortage crisis in the US.

NaiveChoiceMaker

Trump wants Xi to come beg and kiss his ass as he had other countries doing so in his claims.

TaifmuRed

About those midterms in two years….Does he?

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/strengthening-and-unleashing-americas-law-enforcement-to-pursue-criminals-and-protect-innocent-citizens/

molski79

If he wants China to pay the tariffs, aren’t the Chinese just subsidizing their exports even more - the #1 complaint he has with the Chinese.

He wants the Chinese to do more of what he wants the Chinese to stop doing.

Snowedin-69

Lol. China will just let prices spike. They know the majority of the American people will turn on Trump and the Republican party when cost of living goes through the roof.

This is going to backfire on Trump big time.

I'm waiting to see if the GOP will turn on Trump or let their whole party burn.

Draiko

So China now has access to Russian resources at a discount since Russia shit the bed…and China can pressure Australia to sell resources at a discount since the US tariffed Australia…and China has open access to sell in Europe, Australia and Canada since the US shit the bed and the rest opened negotiations with China instantly…are we winning yet?

halp_mi_understand

China already said they have been around 5000 years, expect to be around another 5000 and would not deal with these tariffs  but seek other options for markets and materials. China has already stopped selling some components to the US, like military drones and parts, that are not available anywhere else.

cwsjr2323

Equity markets are on opioids despite all this. 

manu_ldn

China is going to comply with everything once Trump is elected Pope and  they convert to catholicism.

tiorancio

If Xi outlasts Trump, he will become a legend in Chinese history. He is not gonna give up anytime soon.

Mercilesswei

I would just like to point out a thought I've been having lately. This could all stop. This could all stop in the next couple of weeks if the supreme Court had a fuckin spine and Congress wasn't completely locked to his ass. Never forget that in Joe biden's last 6 months everything was going just fine. Boring predictable and fine.

PizzaWhole9323

Anything that China ships to the United States will be shipped "FOB" or "free on board", meaning that duties/tariffs will be collected at the destination rather than "DDP" or "delivered duty paid", meaning that the seller HANDLES collection of the duty/tariff. This is different from the seller PAYING the tariff. The buyer will be billed for the tariff on the invoice.

For any seller to absorb a 145% tariffs, they would effectively be paying the buyer to accept their goods. We're already seeing goods that normally ship from China being sold on eBay coming through Canadian sellers instead. Imposing a $25 or $50 per item tariff on wallets or watchbands is effectively an embargo,

No_Philosopher_1870

Chinese economy is hyper competitive. You don't give the cheapest price? Dozen others are willing to step up. How exactly do they think they will eat the tariffs over there? Start working at a loss? These people are dillusional.

Plutuserix

I think the Chinese are more than happy to trade a few years of economic dislocation for the chance to become a hegemon. Seems like a good trade to me.

FocusIsFragile

Aren't the gross profit margins ranges either from 5/6% to 12-15% max? Actually it doesn't really matter as very few industries have margins that can "eat" 100-200% tariffs without passing the costs onto the customers.

Spiritofhonour

Delusion is when you believe your own lies

Icarusmelt

Trump has shown us that most of his predictions are garbage.

Wjldenver

Totally ignoring the US owned companies that have to pay them to import manufactured product or components manufactured abroad.

TheFutureIsAFriend

Actual data on 04-29-2025:

On Amazon, a chair purchased before "Liberation Day" was $55.93, and is now $220.10.

Will China "eat" the difference of $164.17? No.

It sure looks like the America consumer is being asked to "eat" it 🥶

JazzCompose

barth_

Ok so you guys are all shorting then it sounds like?    Let's see those positions!

troy_caster

So the shelves are going to be empty-empty in a few weeks.

ClassicT4

Didnt Walmart and target just tell china to continue shipping and they would eat the costs to simply keep their shelves full????

Dommccabe

dirtytwinky69

Everyone is ripping me off, everyone is taking advantage of me. The world is a big dumb meanie. Yep, this like a child having a temper tantrum. China needs to stick to its guns. Businesses need to add these tariffs to their costs.

Miiirob

In English, we don’t say this is 'predict'; we say it is 'a lie'.

pikac8u

Bessent says that China could lose 10 million jobs.  How many will the US lose?

The-zKR0N0S

And Mexico will pay for the border wall.  Yeah, Trump says a lot of shit.

jradio

I mean yeah, OP has it right. The Chinese are, by and large, conditioned to fall into line even through hardship. 

Americans, on the other hand, sometimes turn murderous if someone uses their preferred parking space. Which country do you think breaks first?

WYLFriesWthat

Can someone explain to a Canadian 🇨🇦 why you guys voted for this? Are people that ignorant to what a tariff is and not able to google it? Or did Americans truly believe their subsidized profits from the rest of the world’s manufacturing; gave them the upper hand?


No one wants to help America maintain the “status Quo”

snasna102

What planet are we on?  How are they gonna pay it?  For an examole, let’s say China sells us a red hat for $1.  The tax is $1.45.  How are they gonna pay that?  They’re gonna just pay us .45 to give it to us?

stilloriginal

Who in the right mind to eat a loss of $145 worth of good to make $100?  Maybe he did.  That’s why he bankrupted 6 times.

Objective-Ring7630

I am so tired of this regime spewing nonsense and lies on an hourly basis. Sadly about 40% of the country believes this crap.

atdharris

Every time he opens his mouth he reiterates that he has no idea how tariffs work and zero clue as to what he is doing. Yet his supporters continue to eat it up and think that we're somehow sticking it to every country in the world while they all negotiate new trades deals with each other bypassing the US. So. Much. Winning.

NativeTxn7

Concepts of a plan. He was right. Americans did sign up for this and their quiet acceptance is baffling.

Purplebuzz

Trump is the only one who is going to eat anything. Why are they making decisions of global weight and consequences with no plan, on just a wing and a prayer?

rnewscates73

What do you all expect him to say. That we will roll back the tariffs. Knowing him he has to show that he is tough and smart.

confused_ma

Trumpy whole thing is he expects everyone to accept his bullying and to get his way. All it takes is people to stand up to him and say no, and his whole strategy crumbles.

JustTheOneGoose22

"China probably will eat those tariffs,”

The problem with this thinking is that if there are many foreign suppliers, they almost certainly can't. If there's someone on Alibaba buying in pepper mills and selling them on and clearing 100% profit, competition is going to appear on Alibaba. 

"Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said China could lose 10 million jobs because of the tariffs — but declined to detail any specific negotiations underway between the two nations."

Show me the math on that. Because I don't believe this is any more than an asspull.

"“I’m not going to get into the nitty-gritty again of who’s talking to whom, but as I said, I believe for the Chinese, these tariffs are unsustainable,” Bessent said."

I think China has a much better grip on who can play chicken here.

Teembeau

China has already won. Trump has lost. It’s game over.

blipposaur

Tariffs are taxes, eaten by consumers of the nation imposing the tariffs.

AleSklaV

They’re just digging a deeper hole with such comments. “They deserve it” “ripping us off” the glee at “10 million jobs” lost.

Friendly_Rub_8095

If by eating the tariffs he means China won’t give a shit and would rather see him fail and fall flat demanding a meeting, he’s probably right

And the stock market is supposed to be forward looking and smart money?  Waiting for the next major drop in the stock market after the tsunami of pain coming for this country.

zitrored

IcestormsEd

diamanthaende

Yeah, because any nation would eat tariffs.

Desmater

The Chinese eat many things, including snakes, tripe, organs that you feed to the dogs but tariffs? Yeh nah even they wouldn’t eat that

conh3

In what parallel universe is China going to eat the tariffs lmao

litreofstarlight

Do these guys understand how communism works?

Miserable_Potato283

I seriously doubt this admin has had any serious talks with China regarding tariffs.

No, China will sell to a country that has or will have a deal with USA already. They both relabel and make money off off you.


Easy.


Why do you think EU leaders are in China every other day last month? Nothing else in our news but this pendling back and forth. Lol.

ivobrick

NinoAllen

Moar_Donuts

BrexitReally

And yet they went crazy at the thought of Amazon showing the added costs of the Tariffs. He’s a terrible liar. You’d think with how much he lies he’d be better at it.

digi57

FarrisAT

China will be raising prices when tarriffs are going down. They know America will pay because they can’t do it themselves. Trump screwed everyone

altivec77

musclecard54

China is backing down a bit today...**China eases tariffs on select US goods as Trump says Beijing will 'eat’ the costs**

[https://finance.yahoo.com/news/live/trump-tariffs-live-updates-china-eases-tariffs-on-select-us-goods-as-trump-says-beijing-will-eat-the-costs-191201015.html](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/live/trump-tariffs-live-updates-china-eases-tariffs-on-select-us-goods-as-trump-says-beijing-will-eat-the-costs-191201015.html)

stoked_7

Haha anyone holding a large % of their portfolio in US equities is about to feel some serious pain

Antifragile_Glass

Trump with the ability to set tariffs is equivalent to a monkey with a loaded gun.

ATT-Scammed

If Trump said the sky was blue, I’d look outside to check.

ZBot316

apoletta

It blows my mind at how mentally impaired Trump is. He’s worse than sleepy Biden.

Arlennx

MisterStorage

man harbor freight is about to go outta business

Healthy-Chef-2723

Even MAGAs should be able to comprehend this: China is going to “eat” a tariff that is 145% greater than the value of the item?

ElectricalYoghurt774

First the dogs were eaten; then the cats; now the tarrifs

SadGrapefruit6935

Apple imports iPhones from China at a cost of $100 and sells in the US at a price of $1000. I don't see why they can't pay an extra $100 as tariffs without increasing their prices. Sometimes people need to limit their greed for everyone's benefit.

China is going to pay an American imposed tariff on behalf of the American consumer, just to make Donnie look good?

I enjoy reading fiction sometimes, but...

PitifulSpecialist887

The Trump administration's aggressive trade tariffs aim to reshape global trade dynamics, affecting international relations and economic cooperation.

US Trade Tariffs and Negotiations under Trump Administration

Why This Matters

Public Sentiment Summary

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What the people want