Trump may have hit the brakes on reciprocal tariffs levied against many of the US’ top trading partners, but the duties imposed on China will reach a staggering 145% on certain goods.

President Trump's total base tariff on China is actually 145%, an amount higher than the 125% previously reported and Trump himself had seemed to imply. The new topline number was made clear when the text of Trump’s executive order "modifying reciprocal tariff rates" was released Thursday morning to the media.

The year-on-year expansion matched China’s growth rate in the fourth quarter and exceeded Beijing’s full-year target for 2025, as well as the 5.1 per cent forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll. The strong first-quarter growth came despite Trump’s first salvo of 20 per cent tariffs,