President Donald Trump’s 104% tariffs on China officially took effect at midnight—and China responded swiftly.

Just hours later, Beijing announced a new round of retaliatory tariffs, slapping an additional 50% duty on U.S. goods beginning Thursday. The move brings China’s total tariff rate on American imports to 84%. In the wake of the tit-for-tat escalation, global markets remained on edge, and U.S. stock futures were down early Wednesday.

The White House defended its actions, dismissing China’s response as a “losing strategy.” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called it “unfortunate” that Beijing refuses to come to the table, labeling China the “worst offenders” in the global economy.

“I think it’s unfortunate that the Chinese actually don’t want to come and negotiate because they are the worst offenders in the international trading system. They have the most imbalanced economy in the history of the modern world. And I can tell you that this escalation is a loser for them,” Bessent said.

“They are the surplus country. Their exports to the U.S. are five times our exports to China. So, they can raise their tariff, but so what?” he said.

China has accused the United States of undermining its sovereignty and violating international trade rules, according to the Daily Wire.

“We will not let anyone take away the Chinese people’s legitimate right to development. We will not tolerate any attempt to harm China’s sovereignty, security and development interests,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said Wednesday. 

Following the implementation of the tariffs, U.S. stock futures took another hit Wednesday morning. Dow Jones Futures and the S&P 500 both dropped over 2%, while NASDAQ Futures declined by 1.81%. At the same time, a broad selloff in the bond market pushed treasury prices down and sent yields climbing to 4.38%.

Despite the market turbulence, the Trump administration remains confident that the sweeping tariffs will draw countries to the negotiating table. According to officials, more than 70 nations have already reached out to begin trade talks.

On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that Trump believed China would ultimately have to negotiate.

“He believes China has to make a deal with the United States. It was a mistake for China to retaliate,” she said. “The president, when America is punched, he punches back harder, that’s why there will be 104% tariffs going into effect on China tonight at midnight.”