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Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →On April 11, 2025, China announced that its additional tariff on imports from the United States would rise from 84% to 125%, effective April 12. The State Council Tariff Commission said further US tariff increases would no longer make economic sense and would become “a joke in world economic history.” The announcement signaled that China would stop matching US increases with ever-higher tariffs; it did not rule out other responses. These are historical April 2025 figures, not verified tariff rates for October 2026.
What China’s 125% tariff covered
The 125% figure was China’s additional tariff rate on goods originating in the United States—not a tariff on imports from every country. China had previously raised the rate to 84%, according to the Associated Press, before announcing the increase to 125%.
In the same news cycle, the Associated Press reported that US tariffs on Chinese goods totaled 145%. That was the US-on-China figure reported at the time, not China’s rate, and the two percentages describe tariffs imposed by different countries on imports from one another. Neither figure establishes the current tariff schedule.
When the increase was announced and took effect
China announced the increase on Friday, April 11, 2025. The new rate took effect Saturday, April 12, according to the announcement reported by the State Council Information Office and Xinhua and contemporaneous Associated Press coverage.
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Why China called further US tariff hikes a “joke”
The State Council Tariff Commission’s announcement argued that further US tariff increases would no longer have economic significance. It said: “Even if the United States imposes even higher tariffs, it would no longer make economic sense and ultimately go down as a joke in world economic history.”
This was the Chinese government’s stated rationale and rhetoric, not an independently measured conclusion about the economic effects of tariffs. The wording framed the 125% rate as a stopping point for matching further US increases one-for-one.
Did China say it would keep raising tariffs?
No—not in response to further increases in the same tariff “numbers game,” as China described it. Reuters reported that Beijing said it would not respond with additional tariff increases if Washington continued raising its rates. That was China’s announced position in April 2025, not a guarantee about every later policy decision. Reuters also reported that China left other forms of retaliation open.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the announcement does—and does not—tell you now
The announcement explains one step in the US–China tariff escalation in April 2025: China raised its additional tariff on US-origin imports from 84% to 125%, then said it would no longer keep matching US increases with higher tariffs. The sources cited here do not establish what tariff rates apply in October 2026, so the 125% and 145% figures should not be used as current rates.
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