WASHINGTON — The Trump administration said Tuesday that China made a “big mistake” with retaliatory tariffs on US goods — and will as a result face a 104% tariff rate at midnight.

Beijing has vowed to “fight till the end” despite the massive new duties on exports to the US, which is the top market for Chinese products.

“It was a big mistake, this Chinese escalation,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC. 

“We are the deficit country. So what do we lose by the Chinese raising tariffs on us? We export one-fifth to them of what they export to us. So, that is a losing hand for them.”

Federal data show that Chinese exports to the US amounted to $438.9 billion last year. The US sent China about $143.5 billion in goods.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday afternoon that China’s posture had secured it the massive new tariff rate, which will take effect at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.

“When America is punched, [Trump] punches back harder,” Leavitt said.

“The president will be implementing these 104% tariffs on China tonight.”

World Bank data show the US is by far China’s top trade partner, while the Office of the US Trade Representative says 16.5% of US imports are from China, meaning potentially significant pass-through costs on consumers.

Trump’s new global baseline tariff of 10%, with higher rates for countries with which the US has trade deficits, have led to wild swings in the stock market since their announcement last week.

Trump announced April 2 that China would face a new 34% “reciprocal” tariff premised in part on the trade deficit — on top of an existing average duty of 42.1%.

That current elevated rate was driven largely by Trump’s 20% tariff on China over exports of fentanyl and its precursors and is a massive jump from the tariff levels of about 20.8% when Trump took office Jan. 20.

The Chinese government in turn announced a 34% tariff on American goods — due to take effect Thursday, one day after Trump’s looming new levy.

The president said Monday that “if China does not withdraw its 34% increase above their already long term trading abuses by tomorrow, April 8th, 2025, the United States will impose ADDITIONAL Tariffs on China of 50%, effective April 9th.”

The Chinese embassy in DC said it wouldn’t back down.

“The U.S. tariff escalation threat against China compounds its mistake and further exposes its nature of blackmail, which China will never accept,” the embassy posted Tuesday on X.

“China will fight till the end if the U.S. side is bent on going down the wrong path.”

While other major countries and trading blocs rushed to appease Trump by pledging action to remove trade barriers and tariffs and to eliminate current US trade deficits, Beijing’s statement instead said it wanted “the United States to immediately correct its wrongdoings.”

Leavitt said that despite outreach to the White House from Israel, the European Union, Japan, and South Korea, rates against all four — 17%, 20% 24%, and 25%, respectively — are still set to take effect Wednesday.

“The president met with his trade team this morning, and he directed them to have tailor-made trade deals with each and every country that calls up this administration to strike a deal,” Leavitt said.

In the meantime, “he expects that these tariffs are going to go into effect.”

In response to a question from The Post, Leavitt confirmed that the administration could use tariff negotiations as “one stop shopping” to revisit other areas of foreign policy.

“If that means discussions of foreign aid, of our military presence in these countries, how those troops are paid for, come to the table, that could be part of the negotiation,” she said, noting that the discussions will be led by Trump’s economic team. 

The war of words heated up again as China attacked Vice President JD Vance for remarks he made in an interview last week stating that the US should not be outsourcing jobs or borrowing money from Chinese “peasants.”

“It is surprising and sad to hear such ignorant and impolite words from this vice president,” foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said, according to a translation by the New York Times.

The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post quoted Lin as calling Vance’s comments “ignorant and disrespectful” — while the Chinese foreign ministry transcribed the jab slightly more delicately, saying Vance’s words “lack knowledge and respect.”

Vance told Fox News April 3 that “we borrow money from Chinese peasants to buy the things those Chinese peasants manufacture — that is not a recipe for economic prosperity.”